Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Heralds of Change
by Forlanceabice
Summary: Decades after the fall of humanity, the Pokemon they left behind struggle to preserve their legacy as they fan the embers of their nascent civilization. In the midst of all of this, a lone former human and his partner work to find out the reasons for his arrival while trying to survive in this strange, new world.
1. Prologue: Waking to Foreign Lands

_There are a couple things that could be said about a mystery dungeon such as Serenity __Pocket__. __Compared to its peers, it was a rather quiet dungeon. Nestled deep as a small pocket inside Serenity Forest, the dungeon serves as a place where a novice can get their first taste of what a mystery dungeon is like without having to worry about most of the dangers associated them.__That said, it was still a place of danger for those who underestimated it. It was certainly not an ideal place for one to find themselves in. For one unassuming human however, it would be the shattering of peace and stagnancy as they rise into their new role in this strange yet familiar world. For however many things may change, the more they stay the same._

(******)

The inhabitants of Serenity Forest stirred as the morning sun crept over the horizon. As light lanced through the fog of night, some began to wake for the day to come. Others still fell into a deep sleep, ready for when night would come again. Regardless of who called it home, it was business as usual all in the forest.

All that is, save for one.

A young man stirred as the morning rays fell upon his face. His eyes twitched as the sun shined upon them, causing him to shift in an attempt to ward off the day for a little longer. A leaf fell forward, securing some protection against the harsh rays.

"_For God sake, can't the sun just let me sleep a little longer?" _He shivered as a crisp breeze blew into him.

"_Why is the AC on so low?" _He grumbled, pulling at his blankets.

A mild annoyance set in as his hands found no purchase on his covers. More immediate to his concerns was the fact his body was feeling sore in all the wrong ways, further compounded by the numb unresponsiveness in his hands. He tried to wiggle the fingers on his right hand, finding that he still felt nothing from them. With his attempts at sleep ruined, the man cracked open his eyes. He winced, shutting them on instinct as the light hit him head on.

"_Must've overslept if the sun's already out. But why the hell does everything feel so off ri-"_

His trail of thought vanished as his vision cleared. He blinked. He blinked again. Then one more for good measure.

"_The hell?_"

The first thing that became apparent was his vision was obscured by something in front his eyes. The other was the fact he was not in his bed or bedroom for that matter. What greeted him was the sights of billowing trees with the floor around him carpeted by forest debris and grass. A few meters in front was a small stream that was flowing nearby, moving so slowly that he didn't notice until now. Whatever drowsiness he felt before was gone, his mind rearing at the unfamiliar environment.

"_Okay, what the hell is going-"_ The man made to stand, only to freeze once again as his brain processed the fact there was indeed a snout in front of his eyes. A part of him wondered why it took him so long to notice it, but the rest was more preoccupied about the state of the rest his body. Without looking, the man tried flexing one of his hands again. Nothing happened. A sense of dread began to creep into his mind as he tried the same with the left. Again, nothing happened. The man took a deep breath, forcing his growing panic into the back of his mind.

"_Fuck's sakes Coryn. Get a grip and just look at it." _Steeling himself, he released his breath and looked downward. To his credit, he managed to avoid flinching when he saw the leaves embedded around his neck. The tip of a much larger leaf fell into his cone of vision, becoming conscious of a light but noticeable pull on his scalp. Coryn suppressed the urge to swear.

"_Calm, remain calm. It's just one hell of a lucid dream Coryn. Relax."_ His eyes fell further down his body as he righted himself up to a sitting position, taking note of the fact his arms no longer existed nor had hands to speak of in a form he was familiar with He tried to ignore the fact that the rest of his body felt off as he glanced at where they should have been. His sight was greeted by two green stumps that ended in three toes, the middle of each being much more elongated than than the others. Also of note was the fact these limbs were long and beefy. He pulled one up, giving it an experimental flex as he worked it around. To his astonishment, the limb was surprisingly flexible, though not to the degree that his arm was as a human. He repeated the process with the other limb as he flexed it before pushing both down into the ground, marveling at the sensitivity he felt as his "forefeet" crushed against the dead leaves beneath them. His toes flexed a little, feeling the foliage curl around them.

"_So no hands. Shit. But of no consequence in a dream. Just enjoy the novelty while it lasts. It's a wonder the dream hasn't ended yet, so take your time. This'll be a good experience to record once you wake up." _He smirked, raking one of his feet against the ground as he pulled in some of the loose foliage around him, marveling at their sensitivity as his toes took in the texture of the dead leaves and grass clipping against them. He gave them another wiggle. Stiff as hell, but he did feel something at least. He gave each limb one more flex before turning his gaze back to his leaves. His neck twisted to a surprising degree as he took in each one.

"_Huh. That's neat. Must be fun party trick. Fun."_ He chuckled, prodding each leaf in turn. In total there were eight rooted around his neck, each hiding a bud underneath which he found were sensitive to the touch.

His vision drifted down to his body's midsection. His skin had a tannish green quality to it, with the muscle in his back well articulated and defined when flexed. Moving down further to his hind legs, he found they were similar to those in the front, save for the joints which resembled that of a modern quadruped. Coryn stood up slowly, careful to keep his balance as he tested his movement. He gave each leg a careful swing before sitting back down, unable to stop himself from cracking a smile.

"_This is so awesome. Definitely ranks as one of my better dreams." _His eyes then fell on his tail. During the brief moment he stood up, he found its weight considerable. It was long, probably at around thirty to thirty five inches if he had to guess. But then again, this was probably par the course for saurians. An idea popped into his head as he stood up a bit, eyeing a branch that was close by. Angling his body so his tail faced it, he willed his tail to move. A shiver ran down his spine as his tail wrapped around the branch until it was enclosed. Another shiver ran down his spine as he took in the course texture of the branch's bark, marveling at how sensitive his tail was to tactile sensation. He lifted the branch into the air and swung it around with a good degree of precision and accuracy. This time Coryn could not suppress the full blown smile he had on his face.

"_Okay, this makes up for the fact I have no hands anymore. This tail is awesome._" It wasn't a hand, but it was very dexterous all things considered. The fact his tail had both heft and girth in equal measure meant he could probably use it as a weapon if push came to shove. Coryn gavea a quick glance at his environment, spotting a lone tree close to him. Pulling back a few steps, Coryn angled his body before pivoting, sending the projectile into the air. His smile faded as he saw the branch go wide of his intended target by several meters, tumbling to the ground before coming to a stop.

"_Oh. I guess this is gonna be more difficult than I thought. Oh well, can't win them all. I still got an honest to god **tail**! It's been a good dream so far all things considered. More realistic than I expected though. I wonder if..."_ Out of curiosity, Coryn bent down to see his underside. He blinked, seeing a distinct shape settled between his legs.

"_Oh. So this body has a sheath. How… Interesting."_ He paused, glancing around him as he became all too aware of the fact he stood stark naked for all intents and purposes. Coryn breathed a sigh of relief as he confirmed no one was around. Sure, he was a bayleef. That much could not be denied. But it was sure as hell going to be an awkward encounter if he ran into any other denizens in this dream. It might be just that, but still it was going to be something to get over. Needless to say, it was something to be avoided for now if possible. Casting his gaze away before his thoughts dropped further into something unwholesome, he stood up and stretched his limbs. He sighed as his bones gave a satisfying **pop** before looking towards the stream.

"_Might as well head on over to see what I look like. I swear if I end up seeing a human face after all this..."_ He shook his head before taking a step. Then another. Then another. And another, until he paced several steps around him. He couldn't shake the feeling something was off about this dream. It was almost unnerving at how realistic it was, his body feeling a dissonance of alieness and familiarity. More than one would expect of a dream of this caliber. Moreover he did not feel the slightest bit uncomfortable in this new form. Every gesture felt well practiced and familiar, that he had always been like this. It wasn't that the body was jarring. It was the fact it wasn't that caused him to pause.

"_Shake it off Coryn. Don't let this spoil your dream. It'll probably be the only lucid dream like this you'll be getting for a loooong time. Treasure it while you still can." _He moved forward towards the river at a walking pace, conscious of how much his tail was working to balance him. While he could probably make do without it, the thought felt… Unthinkable to him. It'd be like losing one of his arms. Another thing he noticed was the way the sun beat down on his body. It felt _different, _a soothing balm to his soul as his body took in the rays. He felt more energetic than usual, to the point it could be called pleasurable. It was an odd detail to have in a dream, but it was here nonetheless.

As he trekked toward the river, he also could not help but noticed the momentum he was building just by walking. He looked to be both a big and heavy thing as one would expect just by looking at his body, but it was another thing entirely to know it just by being in this body. Just by walking Coryn could feel the power this body had, waiting to be unleashed on any unsuspecting foe. Another odd detail to be added to the pile. Then there was the fact that despite all of this lucidity, Coryn had not _once_ felt the urge of waking up. There was no looming urge that threatened to pull him out of this dream. It just did not exist, period. Then there was the sheer consistency in detail of it all. Even lucid dreams had details that were off about them that gave them away for what they were. Yet he was still to find a detail out of place besides his body. Despite his attempts, his unease continued to gnaw at the back of his mind as he came up to the foot of the stream. He shook his head.

_"C'mon Coryn. Give it a rest. A dream is just that. A dream. Though wouldn't it be something if this were all real?"_

"_Perhaps it isn't" _

"_Like hell it is. This will probably end soon. It's nice being a bayleef for the sheer novelty of it if nothing else. But that's all it is going to be-"_Any further thoughts Coryn had were silenced as a hot white pain tore through his left foreleg. Coryn screeched as he went tumbling to the ground just short of the stream.

"Fuck! Fucking hell!" Coryn hissed as his leg pulsated in a throbbing ache, clutching it close to him as his eyes shut. Instincts took over as Coryn slowed his breathing, waiting for the pain to subside as he waited for the pain to dim. A few moments passed as he slowly opened his eyes, his breathing returning to a more normal pace.

"Fuck me, what the hell was that?" Using his good leg, Coryn pushed himself up while he twisted the other to get a good look on what he stepped on. A cold ran down his spine as he saw something had punctured the skin, leaving a sizable wound behind. Whatever did it was nowhere to be seen.

Glancing behind him, Coryn saw that a sharp branch protruding upward glistened in the sunlight with red liquid running down it. He looked back at his foot, seeing blood leak from the small wound to drip on the ground as dread began to build within his stomach.

"_That actually hurt. It actually **hurt**_." He shook his head in disbelief, only to hiss as his foot brushed against some stray grass. The human turned bayleef clenched his teeth as he begun to hobble over the remaining few inches to the stream.

"_Keep in control. Fear is the mind killer. Get that wound washed. Panic will do nothing but get you killed. Focus."_ These were the mantras Coryn chanted as he made inch by in closer and closer to the river, focusing on the fact he had to get his wound cleaned. If his thoughts strayed…

He stumbled as his brushed up against a loose branch, tumbling to the ground once again. A whimper left his throat as Coryn dragged himself the last few inches to the stream's edge and dipped his foreleg into it. Red blood leaked downstream as Coryn waited for the pain to abate, clenching his jaw as he forced down any more noise from his maw. It was during these moments that he had to face the facts as he looked around him.

"This isn't a dream. Fuck. Not a fucking dream at all. Fucking great. Now what?"

"_Keeping calm for one. You've established that this is in fact not a dream. Now you have to plan what you do from here. To do otherwise is to invite death. You will not find any answers in your current state. Get your bearings and find somewhere safe to bunker down in. This stream has a good flow to it, so that means you got a clean source of water. Probably. Since you're a bayleef, it probably means you can munch down on the greenery here. Though it'd probably won't taste very good. Still, better than starving to death. If nothing else, you can follow the stream. Where there are streams, there are rivers. Where there is a river, there is civilization. Right now you need to focus on patching yourself up and getting somewhere safe. God knows that you aren't alone in this forest. So solve your immediate priorities first, then suffer your panic attack in peace. Or don't and die here."_

"Noted." He growled, shuddering as his leg flashed in pain.

"_Hey, at least you have your mind intact. Or at least it seems that way." _Coryn bit down another whimper as the pain began to intensify. Gritting his teeth, the bayleef lifted his limb out of the water to look at his injury.

He blinked. He blinked again. Yet his eyes did not lie.

"The hell?"

A scab had formed on what was once an open wound. He winced as before his very eyes it began to shrink. Seconds passed until nothing was left except for a light scar tissue that revealed that there was ever a wound there. The pain had disappeared, leaving but a light throb where moments before was unbearable agony. A few moments passed as Coryn processed what had happened. With great trepidation, Coryn applied pressure to his foot. To his shock, no signals of pain were returned. It was just normal. The bayleef blinked again, part of his mind rebelling at the fact of what was right in front of him.

"Im-impossible." He tapped the point of injury, finding nothing other than a little soreness.

_"__Apparently not." _Shaking his head, he prodded again to no avail. He stared at it for a moment, flexing the joint a few more times and dragging it across the dirt as he tested the scab, pressing it against a couple of protruding stones and sticks. Though still tender, no pain was felt no matter how hard he poked and prodded at the scab with the various objects in his immediate surroundings.

"How did that just happen?"

"_Looks like your body has an accelerated healing factor to it. Very handy, wouldn't you say? Just be thankful that your body even has that ability, or else you would be dealing with the possibility of infection and crippled movement for who knows how long. Probably gonna be sore for a while, but it sure as hell beats getting sick. Who knows? It's probably going to be the least strangest thing you'll find while you are here. Better get used to it chap." _Trembling, Coryn forced himself up and tested his foot one more time to make sure there was no pain. When none came, he sighed. Ignoring the pit forming in his stomach, he looked over into the pond's reflection. A sudden exhale left him as his stomach fluttered, taking a step back on reflex before pacing back over to the edge.

The visage was both alien and familiar. Animal yet human. Despite the foreign nature of the face, it was somehow one he distinctly recognized as his own and no other. He _knew_ this to be the face of an intelligent, thinking creature. As if someone transplanted his human visage and morphed it to that of a bayleef's. Surreal as it was, the face was still his. Coryn took a step back, his nostrils flaring as he took in a deep breath and released it before peering back at his reflection. Eyes red as roses stared back at him with a mix of trepidation, wonder and curiosity. His lips pulled back in a frown as he took in a closer look at himself. His skin was covered in leathery scales which glistened in the bright sun. A leaf rooted to his forehead hung over to the side as it wafted in a gentle breeze, Coryn feeling every current as it was caressed by the wind. A cute muzzle stood elongated in front of him under his eyes. There but unobtrusive, allowing for full binocular vision. He opened his mouth, revealing a cavity of mostly flat molars along with a few incisors inbetween. Within stood a very sizable tongue.

That was a surprise, but maybe the herbivores of this world also consumed meat on a semi regular basis to supplement their diet. An adaptation for lean times when resources were scarce. His mouth shut. All in all, it was a very _human_ face. He might even have the gall to call it cute if he were a narcissist. Maybe even adorable. Coryn took a step back and sat down.

"Okay, now what?" He mumbled to his reflection. He looked around. Besides the stream, there was nothing but trees, trees, more trees, and finally more trees. Plus some shrubbery and other foliage. Put simply, the only useful point of navigation was the stream besides him. If he were physically capable, he would be cupping his face right now.

"Wonderful. Stuck in a body that's not my own in a forest I have no reference but this river to navigate with only my wits to go on. What the hell do I do now?"

"_Think this through. You'll figure it out."_ Coryn took in another deep breath of fresh air before sighing, drawing in on the sun's tender rays beating down his back for comfort. It was more than pleasant enough to his mind. If not for the current circumstances, he would have taken his time to enjoy it. As it was, it stood as a balm to both his soul and mind as he racked his brain for answers. He glanced at his reflection once more, noting the subtle grooves on his leaf. If he had to guess, they probably held some very sharp leaves tucked inside the membranes. God knows how many it held or how to use them though.

He thought for a moment before making up his mind.

"You know what? Fuck it. Let's see what this body can do." Off in the distance he spied a lone, solitary tree. It stood there in defiance to its neighbors around it. A large target suitable for his purposes. His eyes narrowed as he took up a stance.

"This will do." Coryn took position as he considered how to use razor leaf. Whatever dragged him off to this world had the courtesy of at least giving him the ability to use his body without being a complete tottering imbecile. Perhaps that extended to using his move set.

"Only one way to find out," He muttered. Coryn concentrated on his leaf, willing for it to do something. He jolted as something popped from his leaf. Glancing down at the river revealed thin leaflets protruding from a few spots on his leaf. He gave each an experimental spasm, noticing he could close off individual sections at will if he wished it.

"Well, I guess these are the leaves. Now what?" He considered the question for a moment before throwing his head back, the muscles in his leaf loosening.

"Here goes nothing." With that, he threw his leaf forward. The leaves let loose from their sockets, whistling through the air. Coryn was just only able to see the projectiles as they sailed on forth. The moment he saw their trajectory however, his heart spirits fell as they veered off course and planted into the dirt. To add insult to injury, the lone leaf that did come close deflected off the bark. The leaf fell into the underbrush, leaving but a gash on his target.

Coryn was of two minds. On one hand, he was able to use the move. On the other, his missed a stationary target with all but one of his leaves. Unless they were in relatively close range, anything beyond ten to fifteen feet in front of him was going to be a crap shoot. If nothing else, he could at least use the move for its shotgun like effects. Provided of course he had leaves to spare.

"At least I can still use it." He muttered to himself. He had to admit, it was exhilarating to actually use the move. Less so on missing with it, but he could actually use it for something if nothing else. Maybe he could even use the big leaf to cut stuff with it. In order to use it to its full potential however, he would need to practice. Who knew how long that would take to get good with it. Then there were his other tools to consider. He could probably try ramming the tree, but that probably needed no introduction. Then there were his vines and tail. He had options. But it was likely just with anything else he needed to practice in order to be effective with them. Coryn shook his head.

"One step at a time. Focus. Get razor leaf down first. If that fails, move on. I mean, this shouldn't be that hard. Right?"

Five minutes passed before Coryn let out a scream as his set of razor leaves missed their mark. Out of the twenty five sets he used, only three hit managed to hit their mark. The rest were scattered all over the underbrush.

"Are you fucking kidding me!? God, how hard can it be to hit a stationary target that is **right there**!?"

"_Apparently very hard. Relax. It isn't gonna do you any good to stress out over this. You'll probably need to practice before you nail that move. At least it'll make a good close range scattershot. Why not try something else?" _The bayleef let out a frustrated huff as he leaned against a nearby tree. He was thankful nothing had shown up in the meantime to surprise him. But that would only last for so long before something decided to get the drop on him. He had managed to learn how to control the individual buds on his leaf to conserve ammo. His progress on his aim was disappointing. While some of the misses did have one or two leafs hit their mark, the rest scattered as wasted projectiles. At this point he could only guess as to how much he had left. He could certainly feel the lack of weight from the leaves loosed. Without any means of replenishing them, Coryn would need to converse the rest till the time came which would allow for a resupply.

"Okay then. Perhaps I need to focus on something else. This stress isn't gonna do me any good." He said, tapping his chin in thought. Coryn blinked, looking down to see two vines hovering in front of him.

"_Wait. What?"_

Tracing the vines revealed the two on his right close to his chin had deployed from beneath his leaves without him even noticing it. It was then he noticed an uncoiling sensation around his neck. He blinked once again as he moved the vines of his own will, dragging them across his body.

The buds as it turned out were _very_ sensitive. Practically fingers for all intents and purposes. Out of a thought, he tried opening one of the buds. He jumped a little as the bud unfolded to reveal individual ancilia. He moved it to grasp one of the other vine, moving it around as he took in the individual sensations from each ancilia. They weren't fingers, but a good enough substitute either way. Coryn relaxed, allowing the vines to retract back into his neck. He shivered. It was something he didn't even notice until it was just there. What did that say for how much his mind had changed to allow for that? He shook his head. Questions for later.

"Well that was neat. Weird, but neat. Perhaps I can make use of this." The vines were thick, with the buds being about an inch in diameter. If nothing else they would leave a welt upon impact. To say nothing for what else they could be used for, like wielding a weapon. Coryn had half a mind to practice with them, but with what? Sure, he could use them by themselves. But the bayleef wanted to see if he could augment them with something that had a little more punch. Spying a relatively straight tree branch to his right, Coryn willed his vines to grasp it. He jolted as his vines took hold of the branch and dragged it up to his face. Another surprise was he was able to actually lift it. The branch had a bit of heft to it, but he did not feel as if though he were straining to lift it. That would probably change if he were to try something heavier, but at least it was something. He noticed he was able to feel a similar tactile sensation as he did with his tail. This form was versatile if nothing else. Wrapping the vine tight around the branch, Coryn eyed the tree that dared to defy him so far. Narrowing his eyes, the bayleef pulled back and let loose the branch. The limb tumbled through the air before smacking the tree with a satisfying _thwack_. He couldn't help but grin as it tumbled to the ground, feeling a measure of pride rise up within him.

"Score." Looking closer, he saw he managed to nick the tree. It wasn't much, but at least he wasn't defenseless at range anymore. Provided he had ammo on hand and something to carry them with. Hell, he could probably augment his melee options with them if he were so inclined. Something to consider for later. His thoughts turned to another "move" he could try.

"Well, tackle shouldn't be too hard. Just charge a target and leverage my body weight against it using momentum to my advantage. How hard could this be?" He grinned, setting his sights on the tree. One sore shoulder later and Coryn was of a different opinion.

"Ow..." He said, rubbing his shoulder. "Note to self, angle your body to minimize injury to self. Ow." Coryn noticed his healing factor had kicked in the moment he made impact with the tree. The scrapes he got from it had already healed, and the soreness in his shoulder was going away. All things considered, it was a useful thing to have. Though it could easily become a detriment if anything became trapped inside his body. Otherwise it was simply remarkable at how quick his body was to heal, not to mention durable. A glance revealed it to have been partially uprooted from its spot, causing the tree to lean to its side. Then again, it wasn't _that _impressive considering the relatively small size of the tree. But hey, it took some doing to smash a tree in the first place. Also of note were the blue berries that had dropped the moment he impacted the tree. If the pictures were accurate, these were probably oran berries. Coryn snatch one up and sniffed. The berry smelled sweet, but otherwise nothing remarkable otherwise. Though it did hold firm in his grasp. It was at that moment his stomach growled.

Looking between himself and the berry, Coryn shrugged.

"What the hell. Might as well see what it taste like." With that, Coryn sank his teeth into it. His eyes widen as the sweet taste of blueberries and honeyed apples hit his tastebuds. Coryn chewed slow as he could as the taste enraptured him. This continued on for a few moments before he swallowed. Another bite, the process repeated. Soon nothing was left as he licked the last few juices from his buds. His body felt reinvigorated like nothing he had before. Like he took a wallop in the energy department.

"Holy shit, this stuff packs quite a punch." It was a temporary boost to be sure, but hell if it didn't do his body good. He wondered if the healing effects were as advertised, but at least it did something.

"Maybe things won't be so bad here after all." He mulled, chomping down on another delectable berry. He looked around, a slight frown finding its way to his face.

"Although if I don't find my way out of here soon… If I don't find a way back..." His grip slackened as the reality of the situation began to drive itself into his mind.

"_Don't. Now is not the time. All you can do right now is survive. You can't go back if you die here. Find a place to lay low in, then figure out your game plan. Something must have brought you here if the games are any indication. Perhaps there could be more afoot here than you realize."_

"_But what if I don't have a way to get back? What if I am stuck here forever?" _

"_It is what it is. Not much you can do about it. Maybe you are a clone of the original Coryn who is safely tucked away in bed and waking up as you speak." _His head dipped as a feeling of melancholy swept through him.

"_That's fucking depressing."_

"_Again, it is what it is. At least that way you won't have to worry about your folks. Maybe if you die here it'll bring your memories to the original. Or not. Either way you don't know, and dwelling on it ain't gonna fix shit until you have a moment of safety. Life is gonna be tough here. None of the amenities that you are used to are present, and if Pokemon exist here you're gonna be in for a load of trouble if they're hostile. And if this is anything like the games, you've been dragged here to save the world. Assuming that is a thing of course. Either that or someone did so for shits and giggles. But hey, you got your mind and memories intact. More or less anyway. Again, all you can do is survive and try to adapt to the shit you are in. Besides, you're a Pokemon! One of your favorites no less. At least you aren't a garbador or a muk. Now **that** would suck." _He shivered, wrinkling his nose at the thought.

"_Yeah… It would." _

"_Try to keep your spirits up old chap. It won't do to dwell on dark thoughts at the moment. Adapt and overcome and hopefully you'll find your light at the end of the tunnel." _Upon that thought, Coryn pulled his head back up and took in a deep breath before exhaling before looking about his surroundings.

"Hopefully. Now wha-" A branch snapped to his right. Coryn whirled, taking a defense stance as adrenaline rushed through his body. He froze, his mind stopping at the sight.

"Holy shit..." He whispered. A blue mudfish stood looking up at him in shock. Black dew orbs shined as mudkip looked onward. Below its feet stood a broken tree branch. The bayleef blinked as the mudkip stood rooted to the ground, petrified in a display of fear. Coryn's mind whirled as it fought for a response. Here was a live Pokemon in the flesh! What the hell was he supposed to do?

"_Maybe go say hi. The thing hasn't attack you yet, so the worst that can happen is it tries to bite your kneecaps off. Stop staring and say hi. It might even know a way out of here." _Coryn blinked as he focused on the matter at hand.

"_Baby steps. Just say hello and see what happens"_

"Um… Can I help you little one?" He winced.

"_Smooth. But you could always do worse."_

The mudkip jolted but otherwise remained in the same spot. For a moment Coryn thought it didn't hear him until he heard a mumble from it.

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

"… Could you help me find my mom? I'm lost." Just like that, whatever hope that the bayleef had fostered faded as his stomach sunk.

"_Well… Shit." _

_(**^**)_

End Note

_It has been three long years. _

_From first conceptualization, to getting off my damned ass to write and proofread this bloody thing, three years it has taken to finally put this story to form. I am happy to give you the first working part of the beginning prologue to this story. And hopefully, a good reading experience. Considering this work will be my first true to form addition to this fandom, I hope you as the reader find something good to take away from it. If not, I am happy to receive constructive criticism to the contrary on areas where I may need improvement. Such as the nature of an aspiring writer myself, I have little doubt I will need such in the coming times as I progress along with this story. If nothing else though, I hope my venture proves to be a productive one in the end. _

_All that said, the next couple of parts will come in shortly to pace things out a bit, barring any unforeseen circumstances. _

_In any case, welcome to the start of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Heralds of Change._


	2. Prologue: Getting Aquainted

If Coryn still had fingers to pinch his nose, he would have done so. Instead, he took a deep breath and sighed before fixing his full attention on the little water type.

"I'd love to little mudkip, but I happen to be a little lost myself." The mudkip's face fell even further.

"Oh." Coryn's head tensed, feeling the pressure pulling at his temples.

"_Get her mood up. She's just a kid for God sakes." _The bayleef took a few steps closer to the mudkip, taking a knee near her. To Coryn's relief, she did not back away.

"However, I would be happy to escort you until we find our way out of here. What's your name?"

"Lisa. But you can call me Mudkip if that's alright."

"Lisa's fine." The mudkip jumped as a growl was heard from her stomach. Coryn shook his head in amusement, picking up one of the oran berries and holding it in front of her. "How about you get a bite to eat, then we'll figure out how to get out of here." The mudkip beamed at the sight of the oran berry, pouncing on it just as he laid it in front of her. Coryn watch on in amusement as the berry disappeared before his very eyes in just a few bites. When the last bit went down her throat Lisa sat and patted her stomach, burping before releasing a sigh.

"Seems someone has a happy stomach." Lisa nodded.

"It tasted very good. Thank you mister."

"No problem. But I am curious as to how long you got lost in this forest in the first place. Or for that matter how long you've been lost for. Mind telling me a bit about that?" Lisa paused, placing a paw to her lip.

"Well I was playing in the forest with my friend caterpie when suddenly this big, scary raticate came up to us saying we were in his territory. So I said nah uh, saying he didn't own it. He got mad, so he attacked us. Caterpie managed to get in a string shot, but that only made him madder. So I shot him with a water gun and called him a mean name. So he decided to chase after me. So I ran in here and lost him, but got lost." She frowned. "Mommy is not gonna be happy with me. She told me to stay away from the forest so I wouldn't get lost and because this place has a mystery dungeon. I… I want to go home. Back to mom." She sniffed. Coryn took a seat next to her, patting the mudfish Pokemon on the back.

"Hey now, we'll get out of here. Just as long as we follow this river, we'll be fine. You said this place has a mystery dungeon?"

"Uh huh. Not a big dangerous one. Mommy told me to stay away because it houses bad Pokemon."

"Ah… I see." Coryn suppressed the urge to bite his lip.

"_Well that's just great. A mystery dungeon is close by and it's filled with all sorts of hostile Pokemon. Assuming we're not already stuck inside one. Jesus." _Coryn held back the urge to facepalm. Instead he took another oran berry for himself and began to munch on it while he tossed another one to Lisa.

"What's your name mister Bayleef?"

"Coryn. Coryn Fletcher."

"Well it's nice to meet ya Mister Fletcher!" Coryn gave a wave with one of his vines.

"Please, call me Coryn little one. I don't think we need to be so formal with one another." Lisa shrugged.

"If you say so." With that the mudkip return to eating, giving Coryn a few moments to think. Namely the fact that mystery dungeons existed and they were _very_ close by to one, if not already inside it. The second was that they were dangerous, though it seemed this one was not so bad when compared to its peers. This meant fighting hostile Pokemon, a prospect that left Coryn with deep unease. He shuddered as he imagined trying to fight a near peer opponent. Chances are it would end with getting a brutal beatdown, if not outright murdered. Then there was the fact he had a little child who sounded like on the cusp of teenhood to look after. A fucking escort mission as his first task to get to civilization. Worse still was the fact that no partner had showed up. If worse came to worst, he supposed he could buy time for the little one to get away. But then what? He'd be left a rotting corpse in the middle of nowhere. And this didn't guarantee the mudkip's survival. Even if he did reach civilization, he would have to explain who he was to them. There was always the classic amnesia route, but who knows how long he could keep that act up? What if they discovered he was a human?

Coryn shook his head as the signs of a headache began to form.

"_Focus. Just take it one step at a time. You don't need to worry about all that stuff yet. It might be best to wait for someone to come looking for you. If it is like the games, they might have rescue teams come looking for you. So all you gotta do is stay put in a safe place and wait for evac."_

"_What if they don't? What if there aren't any rescue teams?"_

"_You could just ask." _His line of thought was disrupted as he felt Lisa prod him with a paw.

"Whatcha doing out here mister? Are you some an explorer? Or are you some wildander?" He froze, glancing down as Lisa looked up to him in expectation. Coryn suppressed the urge to swear.

"_Okay. What would be a good backstory for me to satisfy this little type without screwing me over if… **When** we get back to civilization?"_

For all he knew humans would be hated here. He thought for a moment, racking his brain for options before sighing. He needed something simple.

"Are you alright mister? You seem haggard." Lisa asked. Coryn forced out a chuckle as he returned his focus to the water type.

"Not entirely Lisa. Truth be told you could say I am a stranger to these parts. One moment I was asleep in bed after exploring a little forest, the next I wake up in a body not my own in a place I do not recognize." He winced as Lisa let out a gasp, shock and awe clear in her eyes.

"Wait, that means you are not a bayleef?"

"Well technically I _am_ one, though not the day before this one. I don't recall ever walking on four legs before." A shiver ran down his spine as the mudkip let out a squeak.

"Oh gosh, maybe some dungeon did this and turned you into a bayleef! I've heard a couple stories of this happening to Pokemon from the elders, but not like this! Oh I can't wait to tell my friends about this." Coryn could not help but grimace, something that was not lost on Lisa as her enthusiastic squeaks fell. "What's wrong mister? You don't seem happy about this." Coryn took in a breath before bowing his head so he was eye level with Lisa.

"I am not. I'd rather keep a low profile for the time being if we get back to civilization. Don't get me wrong. While I would like to return to my original body, I'd rather scope things out before spouting claims that I am not a bayleef. For one I am still trying to get my bearings on this place, and I would like some time to acclimate and get a read on things before doing anything drastic. I don't know about you, but if someone were to come up to me and say that they weren't in their original body, I would think they have taken a hard knock to the head. Or if they _did_ believe me, it would attract all sort of attention that I am not ready to deal with right now. So I would appreciate if you could keep quiet for the time being, at least until I am ready for it. You understand don't you?"

"_Not to mention having the possibility of having a psychic rummage through your head. Wouldn't that be a fun experience?" _Coryn forced the thought back into his mind as Lisa chewed his statement over.

"I… I guess. But it's just so cool to meet someone affected by a mystery dungeon like that. I've never met an explorer who had this happen to them. Mom doesn't like me getting close to them. Something about getting ideas in my head."

"Making a lot of assumptions here." He muttered under his breath.

"Oh? You're not an explorer?" He paused for a second before giving a half shrug.

"More of a wanderer than anything else." He said, flicking his vines to nowhere in particular. Lisa nodded.

"Well you don't have the explorer gear, so I guess that makes sense. What were you before this?"

"Lucario." He regretted his choice of Pokemon as interest flash anew in the mudkip's eyes.

"A lucario!? That's awesome! I've seen a Lucario once, and he was awesome with how he was able to use Aura to find stuff and blow them up with aura spheres! What's it like being a Lucario mister?" Coryn felt one of his cheeks twitched as he rolled his shoulders.

"I wouldn't know, seeing as how my abilities were rather limited." Lisa cocked her head.

"Limited? What do you mean?"

"It means that my ability to use aura was never good compared to the others I have known. It's been like this since for as long as I can remember. Even evolving into a Lucario didn't help me all that much." Lisa gaped as her eyes widened before giving the bayleef a nuzzle. Coryn shifted in discomfort at the unexpected display of affection as Lisa gave him a comforting smile.

"Oh Arceus. I'm so sorry mister. It must suck not being able to use your aura all that well." He shrugged.

"I made do without it. To be honest I never found myself that affected by my lack of ability compared to my siblings. It just is what it is."

"Still sucks that you can't use it."

"What can I say? Life wasn't all that bad, if a little dull. But I had it good all things considered, though having a caring family helps a lot." Lisa nodded.

"Yup! Having your family to help when you aren't feeling so good helps a lot."

"Indeed it does. Though all that being said, I trust you'll keep quiet on what I am until I am ready."

"Oh sure! I'll keep your secret. Everybody has secrets to hold for a reason! Though I don't know why you worry about Pokemon reacting badly to such a thing. Maybe someone could help you get back to your original form."

"Maybe. But like I said I rather take things one step at a time." Lisa shrugged.

"Alright. But I still wanna tell my friends sooner or later."

"You'll be able to in due time Lisa. Just keep quiet for my sake. Now changing the subject matter, how far are we from your home?"

"Not that far. Serenity Forest is a big place though with a lot of normal, bug and flying types in it. Though the Pokemon here usually won't attack you unless you get in their territory. The only ones that will attack you are the ferals and hunter swarm of beedrill if they're hungry." Coryn felt himself go pale as he took in the information.

"What do you mean a hunter swarm of beedrill?"

"Just that. There is a wild hive of them somewhere out in the forest. If they're getting hungry, they sometimes mob travelers who come here. I heard they even ate one who got them mad. Though the guilds are usually able to keep'em in line as long as you don't stray into their territory. Besides, we aren't anywhere close to em, and they got enough prey that we don't need to worry about them."

"If you insist." He muttered. Considering how nonchalant the mudkip was at the mention of beedrill, she probably had something to back that claim up. Still though, he had a type disadvantage here, and he was not knee to find out if what would happen if they ran into such a group. His mind turned to the question he had before.

"Will there be any rescue teams that'll come and look for you?" Lisa nodded.

"Should be. Caterpie should have gotten to his mom by now. Pokemon get lost here every now and then, so the task is given to rookie rescue teams. They usually find whoever is lost here in a day or so."

"I see. Then perhaps it would be a good idea for us to stay put by the stream. Chances are they'll probably check the area along it first. So as long as nothing tries to take us on in the meantime, I think we'll be okay."

"Too bad something _did _find you." Coryn and Lisa bolted upright at the sound of the new voice, the bayleef swerving his head to its source. All he saw were the bushes and trees around him. Lisa had backed up behind him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Stay behind me." He muttered to Lisa before turning to the treeline. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"Well if you insist." Out of the bushes came a raticate. The first thing that became apparent to Coryn was he was _big,_ about the size of a german shepherd. The second was the vicious look he had on him, a scar running down a pale, sickly white eye. Patches of fur were missing, revealing more scars added to his body. The thing wore an ugly smirk as he settled his eyes on them, almost as if he were appraising his next big meal.

"Well what do we 'ave here? Looks like our little civil has a friend." He said, spitting the word civil as if it were a curse. Lisa's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, and what about it?" The chuckle that followed grated on Coryn's ears.

"Nuthin. Not if this one has any sense to him." Coryn felt his skin crawl as the raticate glared at him.

"I don't know how you met this little fishy friend of mine, but I would advise you stay well away from our business. Otherwise things are gonna get nasty for ya." Coryn gritted his teeth as he narrowed his eyes on his assailant.

"You're assuming I would let you get close to her in the first place." At that his opponent let out a harsh cackle.

"Oh please. You haven't seen a day of fighting. Yer too clean, yer posture all stiff and off. You ain't no tough guy. You're just a prissy city slicker who is in the wrong place and the wrong time. I don't know who you are, but I know y'aint a fighter. From one Pokemon to another, I suggest you _git."_

"And if I don't?"

"Well then, now that is the million dollar question ain't it? I don't think I need to elaborate what's gonna happen if you don't back away from this wee little lass." The raticate flashed his fangs. "Honestly I don't mind dealing with the trouble the guilds will cause me if you don't back away this instant. More food for us." Coryn's muscles tensed as he processed this new nugget of information. He gave a small kick to Lisa as he began to herd her away to the side.

"By us, I assume you are referring to the fact that there is more of-" It was the barest of movement out of the corner of his eyes that was Coryn's only warning before a purple blur leaped at him. The bayleef swore as he bobbed to the side, missing the rat by inches. Just as rat landed behind him, it was blasted by a stream of water. The rat screeched before it was tossed into a nearby tree. Coryn stared as the mudkip glared at it before turning back to face the raticate. To Coryn's horror, dozen more of the purple pests came out of the bushes on all sides. Glancing upward, he could see even more peppering the branches, each with their eyes zeroed in on their prey.

"Well, well, looks like the kid has a bite to her. Can't say the same for you Bayleef. You just stood there gawking like a damn dunsparce. I'd say this is about the time you piss off to somewhere else. Me and the kid have to have a talk, ya see?"

Considering the situation, Coryn was tempted by the offer. He had no combat experience to speak of, and his display of incompetence did nothing but cement the fact that this was a life or death event. The bloodthirsty look on the raticate's eyes brooked no form of negotiation. If he were to oppose the raticate, there is a very good chance of it ending with his throat slashed. Best case scenario was that he died of blood loss in quick order. If not… Well, the way raticate looked at him hinted of things to come. Coryn gritted his teeth, glancing at Lisa who looked at him in expectation, then back to the raticate and his posse.

"_Fuck me. I could just go, but that means leaving Lisa to die. That would make for a wonderful introduction to this society. Couldn't even protect a mudkip from a goddamn raticate. On the other, do I have any guarantee of this guy keeping his word?" _He studied the raticate and shivered.

"_Nope. Absolutely not. What reason does he have to keep me alive other than to use as a scapegoat? Not many." _He dug his heels into the ground.

"You know, I would if I had the confidence that your talk would actually accomplish anything. Or that I would actually believe you would keep your word. You don't seem the type to let people like myself go. You said it yourself. You wouldn't mind the trouble the guilds would cause you if you were to kill the both of us." At that the raticate let out another laugh that managed to somehow be even worse than the last.

"Well now, at least you slickers got some smarts in ya. But just because I don't mind the extra trouble doesn't mean I rather avoid it if possible. I'd have to deal with those damn bounty hunter of theirs sooner or later. So my offer still stands. Hand over that overgrown fish thing and we'll part way."

Coryn tapped a vine on his chin, appearing to think it over. Glancing to the side, he picked up what looked to be a sturdy branch. Then he looked the raticate right in the eye.

"I have a counter proposal. Leave us be or I shove this stick up your ass." Raticate blinked as the rest of the rattata stared at him in various states of disbelief.

"Is this guy serious?" He heard one of them muttered.

"Why don't you come on over and find out? I assure you'll become well acquainted with what it feels like to have one impaled through your rectum." Raticate let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"You poor, stupid fool." He looked to the rest of the rattata. "Kill the bayleef, and take the mudkip alive. First one to kill the grass type will-" Whatever Raticate was about to say was cut off as Coryn scooped up Lisa and charged one of the rattata, earning a squeal from the former while one of the unfortunate rattata in question got trampled into the ground by the mass from a determined saurian, getting a good **thwack** on the head for good measure. To Coryn's credit, he did not flinch as he felt the skull squelch from the impact. The rest of the rattata stood stunned for a few precious seconds before they began to dash after them, howling in anger at the death of one of their comrades. Or at least that is what he assumed. He was pretty sure he caved in the poor thing's head in. But regardless of that rattata was still alive or not, he was now running for his life with a pack of angry rattata on his tail. He bobbed and weaved between the trees as he galloped onward, Lisa having taken to shooting down any rattata that tried to pounce on them. None tried to get in front of him, having learned their lesson from their comrade. That being said they were close on his heels. Sooner or later they would catch up to him. When that happened, it would end.

Coryn wracked his brain for a plan before settling on something he was sure that would not go over well with his previous self of five minutes ago.

"How close are we to the mystery dungeon?" He shouted.

"Not far! If you keep following the river you'll hit it. Wait, you actually want to enter one!?"

"Not unless you got any better ideas." The mudkip remained silent for a moment before blasting another rattata with a water gun. Her silence was all the answer he needed as he forced himself onward. He was surprised at the fact the he hadn't tired in their minutes long run, though his legs began to burn with the effort.

"When will we know when we're in?"

"I don't know! Just that we'll begin to feel a sense of-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off as a sudden sense of vertigo and dizziness overtook him. The world around him shifted as his vision swam, his gut twisting with every step. Coryn slowed down as he tried to keep his balance, only to crater into the ground as his grip on Lisa slackened. Before Coryn could do anything, the contents of his stomach erupted from his muzzle and spewed on the ground in front of him. The bayleef grimaced, curling up as the nausea assaulted his body. Glancing to his side, he saw the child he dragged along was not that much better as she was likewise relieved of her stomach's contents. For a few moments Coryn laid his head low, taking in slow deep breaths as he waited for the churning in his gut to die down. When it dropped down to a level that was tolerable, he forced himself up on shaky legs and moved to check in on Lisa. A quiet swear left him as he almost stumbled, shaking his head as he checked over the mudkip.

"You alright little one?" He asked, ignoring the burning sensation in his throat.

"No…" She moaned, grasping at her stomach as she rolled over to face him. Her face was scrunched up as she waited for her misery to pass on by, dry heaving as her stomach tried to void contents that were no longer there. Coryn shook his head as he dragged her closer to him.

"H-hey, I don't need you- aaaaugh..." Coryn sighed, patting her on the back as he waited for Lisa's paint to abate. A quick glance at his surroundings revealed the river was no longer present. Nor any sense or reason to their surroundings for that matter. The sky had taken to a cyan coloring while the rest of their environment was warped in some way. Some trees were twisted into impossible shapes while others yet remaining seemingly untouched. Around them laid a number of smooth paths that looked to have been paved, while others still opened out into great big fields. It was then he noticed a sense of abnormality about it all. Something that gnawed at the back of his head telling him something was just _wrong_ about this place.

"_At least you don't have those oversized rodents chasing you." _He swallowed, glancing around to see if there was anything to treat the itching in his parched throat. Nothing but grass and foliage greeted his gaze as he drew back to his inner thoughts.

"_True. But we're stuck in a mystery dungeon. Out of the frying pan and into the fire."_

"_At least you are both alive. The alternative would have been to face your death. If it's anything like the games, you only gotta cover a few floors to get out of here." _

"_Yes. But how big is an actual floor around here?"_

"_Guess you're gonna have to find out." _He shook his head. His inner monologue could wait for later. He glanced down and found Lisa had more or less recovered from her pains.

"I see you are back in the world of the living."

"Yes. Oh Arceus that was bad. I heard that entering a mystery dungeon unprepared like this can result one vomiting, but I didn't think they were serious about it. Oh I take everything I said about those leafy greens mom insist I keep on eating." She shook her head, wiping away some spittle before gazing around them and shivered. "So this is Serenity Forest. Not what I expected." At this, Coryn cocked his head to the side.

"What did you expect?"

"Feral Pokemon attacking on sight. But otherwise it lines up with what mom and dad told me about it." Lisa muttered, her head twisting this way and that as she scanned her surroundings. Coryn shrugged.

"It is what it is. Regardless we need to find our way out of this place. If I had to guess, we should be able to find our way out of here provided we can find the exit to each floor."

"I guess." Both of their stomachs began to growl, Lisa frowning as she held her taut belly. "Oh, I am hungry again."

"Well what do you expect? Mystery dungeons seem to affect one's hunger levels." Assuming the mechanics for them were the same in this world.

"Mmmhmm. So now what?"

"We find our way out," Coryn said, getting up from the ground, picking a direction at random. Lisa followed suit and tailed behind him. With that both began their journey in exploring the mystery dungeon. While they were walking Lisa shot him a look.

"Do you know how to fight mister?" Coryn paused, glancing at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"No. I do not. Like I said, I was rather weak with my aura abilities. Doesn't lend itself much to fighting well does it? Besides, I had little interest in sparring. Much to my parents and siblings chagrin." Lisa stopped, her jaw parting as she looked at him with widened eyes. A distinct sense of unease took hold of Coryn as Lisa recovered from her shock.

"You mean you never fought? At _all_?" She said, incredulity filling her voice. Coryn rubbed the back of his head as he averted his eyes away from her.

"I didn't say that. I just fought much less than the others around me due to my weak aura abilities and losing interest in it as a consequence. It's a different lifestyle compared the way others live, but I've been content with my lot in life. It isn't all bad to be honest. It allows me to focus on other things that would have been taken up by sparring otherwise." Lisa stared, doing nothing to conceal her thoughts on the matter. It took her a few moments before she could speak again.

"How? How can you possibly live like that? I mean, I thought you couldn't fight well back there because you were stuck in a new body. But still, I thought you would know something about how to fight them off. How can you live without being able to fight? It's a part of who we are as Pokemon! Not being able to fight… I can't even think of it." Coryn felt a tinge of embarrassment course through his mind. Why did he care so much about this? It wasn't that unusual around here, was it? It wasn't as if he was a Pokemon in the first place until today. He forced those thoughts to the back of his head, taking in a deep breath before responding.

"I just do. It isn't as if I don't feel left out sometimes or that I don't enjoy it on occasion, it's just that I was given a different hand compared to the others around me. I have more or less come to peace with the fact that I am not a fit fighter. So instead I have been content to enjoy what life has to offer and take it in stride. Does that make any sense?" Lisa's eyes furrowed as she chewed this piece of information over, the cogs in her head turning as it was processed. A moment later she shook her head.

"I guess? I still don't fully understand it. I mean, I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't able to fight one day. I get you can have fun without fighting, but even those who don't fight a lot take part in it at least once in a while for fun sake if nothing else." Coryn shrugged.

"Perhaps they have found other things in life to enjoy besides fighting. It isn't like that is all there is to look forward to in life."

"I know, but it's still so _weird _that you don't enjoy fighting all that much. I mean, you said you were a lucario right?" Coryn resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yes. What about it? Just because I was born a riolu doesn't mean everyone in my line will partake in life as a fighter. I bet if you looked, you'll find others just like me who appreciate the other things in life besides fighting. It isn't all that bad to be honest." The mudkip eyes dropped, giving a doubtful stare. "If you say so. But I still-"

Both stopped as they heard a loud screech. Coryn waited for a few seconds as the sound dissipated before pointing his head down the passageway.

"I suggest we put this talk on hold until _after_ we get out of here. I rather not end up as someone's lunch while were here."

"Okay." She said, though the look she gave him indicated the matter would not be forgotten about. With the topic postponed, they resumed their trek through the dungeon.

Still though, he couldn't help but think what would happen when the next fight came. It was plain to see he lacked the skills to fight off those that were supposed to be much weaker than him. While he had little doubt he could tackle smaller opponents one on one, the painful reality was that he was unprepared and vulnerable in this strange new world. Who was to say he would be able to flee from the next encounter? What would happen if he came up against an opponent he could not fight? His grip tightened on the stick he held, the tip matted with the blood of its previous victim. If nothing else, at least he was not completely defenseless. Speaking of whom, it seems that either the dungeon had scattered the rats, or they opted not to follow them. Either did not bode well for the two of them. If it was the latter, then the implications of such a thing spoke for itself. For the first time in a long while, he felt a primal fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of death. Fear of the fact he would not be able to prevail against what was to come. For the first time since he was brought here, it had dawned on him just how poor his position was in this new world. Who the hell was he kidding? If worst came to worst, he would end up dead here. While he didn't feel the amount of fear one would expect in this situation, it still rattled him he brushed up against losing his mortal coil.

"_Concentrate Coryn. Don't let your thoughts get jumbled. Just focus on getting the hell of here first. One step at a time. This dungeon should be a breeze to get through. If you can't fight, flee. If you must fight, fight. Learn what you can while you still have the opportunity. You have a head, so use it. Since you are at rock bottom, the only way from here is up." _Despite this inner monologue, it did little to reassure him. He blinked, noticing they were now approaching a small field.

"_Focus damn you. Such a careless mistake will mean both your deaths if you screw up. Now then, what do we have here?"_

The first thing he noticed was the field was shaped into a perfect rectangle. Covering it were various shrubs and bushes. Perfect places to conceal a small Pokemon. If it wasn't for the fact he knew this place was a mystery dungeon, he would have thought someone created it. As it stood though, there was something else about it that felt _off_ about it. He could not put his finger (Or vine rather) on it, but beside the obvious something else about this room was off. He glanced to Lisa, seeing she was of similar mind as she gave the room a once over before looking at him.

"Well mister I don't know about you, but I don't like this place."

"Agreed. It looks like the perfect spot for an ambush. Although I think we should proceed regardless."

"Why? Didn't you say this would be a good place for an ambush?"

"Because we'll need to fight the Pokemon around here sooner or later. I rather get an idea of what we'll be facing than walk in blind. Besides, I need a place to work out how to battle in this form. A place like this should be a relatively safe environment for me to break in this form."

"If you say so." She shrugged. "There'll probably be some feral laying in wait for us. Caterpie, pidgey, spearow, that sort of stuff that roam this forest. Dungeons usually have Pokemon that are native to its surroundings. At least that is what the explorers say."

"Noted." Coryn willed his eyes to pierce the foliage, hoping to catch something easy for him to practice on. His stick twirled when he spotted a lone pidgey pecking at some seeds on the ground. Lisa's eyes followed his gaze. A cursory scan revealed a few other Pokemon, but none that were as close as the pidgey or as isolated. His vision wandered between the pidgey and the rest of the Pokemon, unease filling his soul as he took in the details. He stopped, blinking as his eyes fell on a lone rattata who was creeping up on the unsuspecting pidgey.

One could be forgiven in thinking it foolish to pay such heed to a common pest, if not for the fact its appearance bore a stark contrast to the ones he avoided from only a few minutes before. It was a rattata, but to say it was the same as the one's from raticate's posse was grossly inaccurate. Everything about the rattata screamed such could not be further from the truth. From the way it moved, its posture, to the dead but hungry look in its eyes as it stalked closer to its query, feral was the only thing that could befit such a creature. The rest of the Pokemon in the enclosure bore varying degrees of such traits, nothing more than animals, below human levels of intelligence.

Lisa noticed his pause, tapping him on the leg.

"You alright mister? It's just a rattata." He hesitated, resisting the urge to frown as he turned back to the mudkip.

"Yeah. Just never saw a feral in person before. I- I heard stories from Pokemon about them, but I thought they were just exaggerating. But to see it like this, I don't even-" The rattata lunged. Coryn jumped as they tumbled to the ground. A short struggle ensued, the pidgey trying to claw at the rattata's stomach. But the filer's fate was sealed, the pidgey's squawk cut short as tiny fate sank into its neck. Blood began to gush from the wound as the struggle began to die down, the pidgey becoming weaker and weaker with every passing second until the bird laid still. The deed was done.

Empty eyes stared out into the world, a pale window which reflected naught but an empty shell. Victorious, the rattata began to drag it out from the open when it noticed them. It hissed, sending a chill down Coryn's spine. Keeping a close eye on the two, the rattata began to drag the corpse towards the bushes nearby. Then just like that, it was gone.

Coryn blinked, paling a little as his stomach churned. Why was he feeling so ill? This was no different than the many sorts of animals he watched in documentaries hunting their prey. He did not feel ill then, so why was he now? This type of stuff isn't the sort to get to them. More to it, he felt a pang of fear rush through him. A quiet one, not enough to affect his decision making in any great degree. But it was almost primal in the way it was embedded in his psyche. Why was that the case? He could easily crush the little rat if he wanted to do so. He certainly didn't feel this kind of fearing when he was fleeing from the rattata, so why now?

"_Could be your body's way of telling you to look out for predators. You know, since you are basically one big herbivore that any predator worth their salt would like to lunch one. Lots of meat on them bones you know. Plenty of nutrients and sweet, succulent flesh to dine on. Probably something you need to work on driving out. Fear is the mind killer after all." _

"_Great. Does this mean that my mind isn't so much my own after all? What else is there that I haven't noticed?"_

"_You're still you. Just the reality of it all catching up to you is all. It'd probably be the same or close enough to it if you were still in a human body. The only way to deal with fear is by facing it." _

He shook his head before glancing to Lisa, seeing her stilled with a look of horror and revulsion in her eyes.

"_Evidently you are not the only one feeling such fears. Why don't you check in on her?_" In agreement with his thoughts, Coryn tapped her on the shoulder. The mudkip jerked before noticing it was him, releasing a sigh.

"You alright?" She shook her head.

"I just saw a rattata rip the throat out of that poor pidgey. What do you think?"

"I thought you said they were just ferals?" He said, trying to put some lightness into his tone. Lisa was not amused, still in shock from the sight before her. Coryn suppressed the urge to groan at his poor attempt at humor, bending down so he was at eye level with her.

"Hey, chin up. This is a learning experience for the both of us. It isn't like we see stuff like this every day. But we'll get over it. Before you know it, we'll both be back home safe and secure." She nodded, fixing him with a determined look before nodding.

"Okay mister. Thanks for that."

"No problem."

"By the way, what did you mean by not seeing a feral before? I mean you still see em on the outskirts or in the settlements, mostly stray scavengers and pests that try to pick at our stuff." He shrugged.

"By that I mean in their natural environment without us to intrude. Clear enough?" Lisa gave him a look before shrugging likewise. What went unsaid was another thing he would have to go over later.

"_Just one more for the pile why don't you? Now be a dear and smack some civilized sense into one of these ferals before you sew more questions into her mind."_ He looked back into the field, eyes falling upon a stray spearow mucking about with an apple too large for its size. He heard a growl coming from Lisa's stomach, who looked sheepish at the noise. Turning back to the spearow, he made up his mind.

"Wait here for a little bit. I'm going to fetch us something to eat."

"Against a spearow? Aren't you a little nervous about the type disadvantage?" He gave her a flat stare.

"I literally dwarf him in size, not to mention I am in an evolved form. Even untrained, this bird shouldn't give me too much trouble. If I need to, I can smash its head in or have you come in on the fun." He said, giving a twirl of his branch. Lisa rolled her eyes, nodding.

"If you say so. Go get him mister." Returning the nod, Coryn got up and began to pace towards the spearow, his weapon raised high behind him. It didn't take too long before the spearow notice him, cawing as it turned to face the intruder. Burying his reservations down into the recesses of his mind, he charged it. The flier went airborne, causing Coryn to swear as his swing missed him by inches. Before he could retaliate, the spearow dived with glinted wings. Coryn made to dodge, yet he proved too slow as the tips of the left wing sliced through his left flank. Coryn choked in a scream as he stumbled, firing off a razor leaf on instinct. The leaves flew wild, but one aimed true as the bird tumbled to the ground with a squawk. Enraged, the spearow charged him again. This time Coryn was ready as he feigned a dodge. The spearow moved to intercept, the wind whistling as time slowed for Coryn to the point where he could see the individual hairs on its wings. What seemed like minutes passed as it came closer and closer.

"_Wait for it… Wait for it… **NOW!**_" Coryn swung true as he felt flesh and bone crumple against wood, along with a hoarse cry from the avian as it slammed into the ground. Before it could get up, Coryn raised a foot and stomped it into the bird. He winced as an ear piercing scream was silenced suddenly as it came as the spearow crumpled beneath him. Hollow bones turned to dust while internal organs liquefied, bursting out of the avian's nostrils and other orifices. Just like that, the fight was over.

Coryn panted, his pain dulled as adrenaline rushed through his body. He glanced to see droplets of blood dripping down his side, the wound healing as seconds passed until naught but a scar remained. He couldn't help but wince as his gaze turned back to the spearow. Or rather what was left of it. He lifted his foot, scraping it against the dirt as he beheld his prey. Whatever suffering the bird went through was ended the moment his foot pressed against the ground, leaving naught but a bloodied mess.

"_What a mess. Christ." _

"_That's what happens when you crush a tiny creature. You now have the honor of having killed an animal in cold blood. Congratulations." _Coryn spat a piece of phlegm from his throat, shaking his head. The deed was done, the spear was dead.

That was what he assumed until the bird began stitching back together before his very eyes. He blinked in disbelief as the body began to reassemble as the bird let out a pained cry. It looked into his eyes with an indecipherable emotion. A moment passed before Coryn's branch smashed into its head.

Again. _Again_. And **again**.

When Coryn finally relented in his assault, there was nothing left of the skull but blood and brain matter. He took in a breath, pausing as he waited for the body to recover yet again. Seconds passed, yet the body showed no signs of reanimating as blood pooled around the still warm body.

He smashed the pulped remains one more time just to make sure.

Coryn sighed, wiping the bits of hair and viscera off his stick using the soil around him.

He expected to feel something, killing a creature in cold blood. Yet Coryn felt nothing but a vague, hollow feeling inside him. What could he even say about it? The deed was done, the bird dead by his own doing. Just a fact of reality made manifest by him alone. He knew that a more moral person should have felt disturb by this fact, yet for whatever reason it bothered him less than expected. He shook his head with a sigh, snatching up the apple and wiping off the blood spatter that managed to get on it. He turned around, only to freeze as he saw Lisa staring at him with a wide open expression of fear and horror.

"Wh-Why did you do that? Why'd you kill it?" Coryn made to respond, yet found himself at a loss for words. His vision fell back to the spearow, then to the field, seeing the inhabitants had scattered. He looked on for a moment before sighing, picking up the apple and wiping it of any smear of blood that got on it with the grass. "It was on instinct. Fight or flight mode. Didn't want to chance it would just attack once it recovered."

"You didn't have too!" She returned, now shouting. "You could have let it walk away!"

"And let it attack us once again? What if it came back with a flock? Isn't it a fact that feral spearow always have a flock nearby in case things go south? They got strength in numbers, something of which we can't face."

"You don't know that." His expression hardened, a cold stare taking form as he took a step towards her. He could not help but wince as Lisa recoiled as she took a step back, each staring at each other in silence as the moment passed. He sighed, tossing her the apple which rolled on the ground till it stopped at her feet.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll only resort to it only as a last resort if it comes down to it. Eat up, I need to think on something." With that he stepped away further into the clearing before she could retort. His mind paced as he wandered the clearing; partly to see if there were any other items of interest, but mostly so he could stew within his own head as he confronted the cold pit that was forming in his stomach.

"_Goddammit. What the hell were you thinking?"_

"_You weren't. Otherwise you wouldn't have so brutally murdered a pretty bird right in front of a kid. For God's sake, are you **trying** to scar her for life? What a way to make a first impression when you come back to civilization. Even if it was just a fucking pest, the least you could have done was let it go."_

"_It was a mercy kill. There wasn't any way to know if it could have fully recovered or not." _

"_You could have tried at least." _He stopped, banging his head against a nearby tree. He honestly didn't feel all too guilty about killing the bird, that much was certain. True, it was an unprovoked attack. But he needed to steel himself for the journey ahead. It was kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. If nothing else, it established a few things about this world. Namely that Pokemon had an absurd healing factor that would kick in if given the chance, and that they could indeed be killed. The amount of damage the spearow sustained yet still managed to live was something to mull over. If nothing else, it meant he had more leniency with regards to screwing up in the middle of battle, with the same applying to his opponents. Useful information to have in an unknown world.

Still though, he couldn't get his mind off the look Lisa gave him. There was simply no way to describe it. The sheer revulsion and horror she directed at **him**. For something **he** did. Something which he could not in good faith justify in either a moral or ethical context, if he was being honest with himself. He shivered, remembering the sensation of the bird crumpling beneath his foot. He scrapped it against the ground, feeling the blood still clinging between his toes even though there was none to be had.

"Bloody hell. What a way to screw up." He muttered.

"_Yup. That was indeed a screw up. But then again, better to do so now than later when your life is at stake. Though you could have done so in a way that didn't… You know." _

"Easier said than done." He shook his head before pausing, seeing something glint in the grass ahead of him. Walking over to it, he found it was a pile of sharpened sticks. Picking one up, he pricked one of his vines against it, wincing when it poked through the membrane protecting his vine. A clear viscera dripped for a second before the wound sealed up. Looking at a close by tree, he held it up over arm and threw. The thorn sailed through the air and buried itself into the birch with a twang.

"At least this stuff is more aerodynamic than my stick." He muttered as he paced over, scooping up the rest. He pulled it out with a grunt, placing it with the rest of the ones he had picked up. He thought for a moment before concentrating, another vine emerging from beneath his leaves. Grasping the bundle, he pulled it beneath one of the leaves around his neck, making sure the pointy ends faced outward before checking to make sure to look around to see if he missed anything. Besides the other path, there was nothing else of interest. He'll need to make a satchel for this at some point. Shaking his head, he turned around. He paused, seeing Lisa standing but a few feet from him. He froze, unsure of what to say as her paw scraped against the ground. Before he could say anything, she looked up at him.

"I… I thought about what you said for a bit." She paused, turning her head side to side. Almost as if she was afraid to make eye contact with him before she turned her gaze back up at him.

"… And?" He said, weary as to what would come next.

"Well… I think you were right." Coryn said nothing for a few seconds as he processed this statement.

"Could you elaborate? In what way was I right?" She sighed, casting a look back at the lifeless corpse.

"About what you said about killing the spearow. I really don't like what you did. I hate it in fact. But being a rescuer sometimes means doing bad things in order to do good ones. I think I realize that now. I was always told by explorers and rescuers alike that their jobs aren't a pretty one, saying how they had to do bad things like killing in order to get through the day alive. I didn't think much about it at the time, cause I always thought in the back of my mind that there were other ways to do things. But seeing this… I guess I have a lot to learn. That sometimes it's correct to kill for survival." Coryn's breath hitched as her words rippled through his mind, the ramifications of his actions becoming all too apparent.

"_Oh God. I think I might have made the wrong impression on her."_

"_You did. A child is an impressionable thing. __What did you think was going to happen?" _It sneered.

"_Not this! I… Oh God."_

"_You'd probably better correct this before it sets in any further. __Wouldn't want to be responsible for raising up a killer would you?__"_Coryn shook his head as he walked up to her, taking a knee so he was at eye level with the mudfish Pokemon.

"Lisa, I want you to listen to me very carefully. Being _right _is very different from being _correct_. Those are two very different things. From a certain point of view in terms of survival, what I did was the _correct_ action in dealing with that spearow. I needed to get used to this new body of mine, and that spearow could have gone and alerted its friends. Nor was there any guarantee that it would have recovered from the blow I dealt it." He took a breath and sighed. "However from both a moral and ethical standpoint, that is arguably less so. You… You were right that I could have let it walk away. Maybe it could have made a full recovery. What I did was… In the moment. I didn't fully think it all through. I just wanted to get used to this body so I could prepare for the trials ahead. I…" His words failed him as his thoughts stopped dead cold, his brain fogging as it ran into a dead stop. He backed away as he stood staring into the distance.

"_Oh who the hell am I kidding? I am not the one to be giving moral lectures around here. What the hell does a spoiled little shit like me who has it good know about **any **of this? I hardly know how to deal with the fucking mess that is the real world as it is. Where the hell were you even going with that you goddamn moron?"_

"_At least you tried. If not you, then she would have stewed in those thoughts and probably lead to some very bad things. Maybe at least. You've done what you could." _Coryn bit his lip, the sentiment ringing hollow as his gaze dipped. He jumped as Lisa put a paw on his leg, the water type looking up at him in concern.

"Mister? You alright?" He paused, taking a deep breath before shaking his head.

"I don't know. Not really. But I'll be fine. Just that I am sorry that you had to see that. I don't want you to get the wrong impression here Lisa. That typing of thinking can only go so far before it leads you into some very dark things. I don't want to be responsible for giving you the wrong ideas and having you act on them." Lisa shook her head. Discomfort permeated his mind as she gave him a quick hug before looking back up at him.

"No. I think I get where you're coming from. That you felt you gotta do what you gotta do. I think you are just like me here. You're just scared, right mister?" Coryn blinked, caught off guard by her words.

"I suppose I am. New environment. New body. Just all so strange." She nodded.

"Mom always said things can get a little messy when we learn new things. She says the only thing you can do is learn from your mistakes and keep on pushing. Whether that be in battling, studying, or anything else." Coryn could not help but blink in disbelief at what was coming from the little mudkip as he bowed his head a bit lower to hers.

"That was… A mature statement coming from you Lisa. You seem to be very wise despite your age."

She shrugged."I have good parents and role models. It helps that I have close exposure to explorers and rescuers for mentors."

"Indeed." He said with a nod. Though his inner thoughts were a different matter.

"_Who the hell is this girl? She is surprisingly perceptive in picking up the mood and coming to her own conclusions. Is it just that Pokemon kids are like this or is it something else that I am missing?"_

"_Maybe you should clue in the fact that she has good role models to pick up from. Not counting you of course. __Be thankful she managed to get her impressions right on her own __and __that __she actually __gives__ a damn about your well being despite not knowing her for even an hour__. __Honestly it says a lot more about you than it does her.__" _He sighed. Right now wasn't the time to argue with these little thoughts of his. To hesitate now would mean both their deaths. To wallow in this **worthless** self pity would do neither of them any good. He had to get his head in the game or find himself dead along with a child he was supposed to protect. His jaw tightened. He could at least resolve to hold himself together until _after_ they were out and into the safety of civilization. _Then_ he could break down like the little shit that he was.

"_Calm. Focus on your objective. You've done enough of that to last a week." _Forcing himself to take in a deep breath, he exhaled after a few seconds and looked back on to Lisa.

"Well, I guess we better get moving. No sense in idling around here." She nodded. A screech in the background cause both of them to jerk up. The noise was followed by other animalistic screeches, along with a few too _human_ screams. They waited for a few moments before Coryn and Lisa looked at each other.

"That sounded like the rattata," Lisa said. Coryn agreed, his eyes narrowing in the direction that the sound came from.

"It does. Guess they followed us in here." He resisted the urge to swear. As if the dungeon wasn't enough trouble already.

"Yeah, but those didn't sound like the good kind of screams." She shivered. "Something happened to them."

A shudder wore its way into Coryn's chest. Those screams sounded too damn human for his liking. Rattata or not, it didn't take a genius for one to figure out something worse had found them before they did.

"Whatever it is, I am rather inclined not to find out." He pointed his head towards the other passageway inside the room. "We'll navigate the dungeon and avoid any unnecessary encounters. We should be able to make it out of here if we're quick about it. Just a quick question to refresh my memory Lisa, but these dungeons have some form of exit in them right?"

"Yup. Apparently they have floors in them of sorts that take the form of brightly lit hallways or stairs." He gave her a look to which she shrugged in response. "Don't ask me why, it just is from what other rescuers and explorers tell me."

"Of course… Well then, I suggest you stay behind and cover me while I dispatch anything in our way. Going to need the practice in this new body if you don't mind me Lisa." A small nod.

"Fine by me. Just… Try not to do what you just did back there again if you can help it."

"I'll try unless I have no other option." He said, taking pace to the passageway with Lisa right behind him.

"I'll keep you to that word."

"Gotcha." Coryn grunted as they cleared the room behind them. With that, they were once again on their way to their destination.


	3. Prologue: A Brush with Mortality

Coryn hissed, reeling from a tackle as the zigzagoon rammed into him straight on, his attempt at deflection failed as he staggered back from the impact. Out of instinct more than anything else, he found himself wrapping his vines around the neck and torso of the little fiend, struggling to keep his distance as it tried to snap at his throat. A quick blow to the head was enough to end that possibility, the zizagoon slumping in his grasp. Seeing the threat incapacitated, he tossed the body into the nearby brush before turning just in time to see a couple rattata charging towards him.

"_Do__ these bastards ever give up?" _Unlike the feral from before, these two rattata split up as they made their approach. Pulling a thorn from his bundle, he waited until they were in effective range and threw. The thorn was aimed just ahead of the path the right one took, the rattata too late in recognizing its peril before it sank into his body. Yet another too human cry of pain erupted from the rodent as its comrade hissed in horror before turning to him with rage in its eyes.

"I'll make you pay for that you-" A simple swing, and the rattata slumped to the ground. The bayleef shook his head. He did not even had to put his full force behind that one. Too predictable. A feral cry stopped short caused him to look, seeing Lisa had dispatched the last of her opponents as the last rattata slumped to the ground. She turned, giving him a feisty grin.

"Well that about does it for this lot, eh mister? Not much of a challenge even for a little mudkip like me!" He gave a weary nod in return. "Yeah… Not much of a challenge at all." He said, taking a breath before retrieving a partially eaten apple from beneath his leaves. He suppressed a moan as his teeth sank into its flesh, the juices pouring down his throat as he devoured the last edible bits of the fruit before tossing it into the underbrush, feeling some of his strength return as he sat down for a breather. Looking around at the bodies around them, Coryn could not help but grimace as he reflected on what had happened.

Since that first encounter with the spearow, the two had run into isolated pockets of feral Pokemon, dotted with a few couples of rattata from that damned raticate's posse. Coryn used such encounters to try and better himself in his abilities, enough so he was not a complete liability in combat. Even still, he had found he made a few too many mistakes against these small opponents, taking hits where he should have not, and missing blows when presented to him on a silver platter. Lisa meanwhile seemed have no trouble during such encounters despite her small stature and age. The bayleef could not help but be unnerved to see his incompetence on display as time progressed. His sheer size and stature as a mid evo precluded most worries of him being felled easily in short order to all but the most careless lapse of attention or to sheer numbers of the mons present within this dungeon. Even the small pairs of rattata from that posse were not of that much difficulty. That said, the fact he was having any trouble at all made him wonder what would happen if he were to run into an opponent who wasn't some trash tier mob and actually skilled as a fighter. He glanced to his surroundings, taking in the number of bodies present. None were dead at any rate, though there was enough present Coryn had reconsidered his earlier promise of avoiding any unnecessary death on his part. The numbers here had pressed him far more than he was comfortable with, a combination of his inexperience and lack of training meant what would have been a breeze to most was a fair challenge to him.

He had been very tempted to shank some of his opponents with one of the thorns he had when their fights became a grapple, resisting just long enough to end the matter before it became a deadly affair. Well, more so than it was right now at any rate.

"_Assuming you can keep this up much longer. You are lucky that beating them unconscious doesn't preclude the fact that you would have done serious brain damage otherwise. Apparently their healing factor can even extend to their brain, provided it is sufficiently intact. Will the sheer wondrous bullshit that this world has to offer never cease?"_

He doubted it would end any time soon. Though he must admit he was growing tired of making sure he didn't end the lives of the mons that attacked them so far in a most permanent fashion. If it wasn't for Lisa being around, he'd probably just kill them then and there. Just like the ones that were trying to do to him. At the very least the body he was in seemed to be fit and conditioned unlike anything his human form was back in the other world. Even with the firearms he had owned and careful attempts to maneuver around any large troublesome groups, he doubted he could have simply escaped unscathed this far into his journey.

To say nothing of the sheer endurance his body had. Just as important to his mind was his ability to keep on trucking despite being winded and recovering from such efforts in relatively quick order. It was an unpleasant sensation to be sure, but not as much as it would have been were he still in his out of shape human body. He suspected this attribute could still be lost if not honed through constant conditioning, but Coryn could declare he had never felt more fit in his life. It was a novel sensation to say the least.

"_Focus. You can think about all of this later when you are back in civilization. Don't get cocky or distracted. You still have to deal with that posse chasing you, to say nothing of what else lurks within this dungeon." _He shivered. They still had not encountered whatever it was that caused the rattata to scream, and he was very much inclined to keep it that way. He turned to Lisa as she look at him with concern.

"You alright there mister?" he shrugged.

"Could be worse. Could be better. But I'll live. How much farther do you think we have to go?" Lisa raised a paw to her chin in thought. "Shouldn't be too much longer. We've progressed a fair bit into this place. I mean, I've heard you can tell just by simple instinct. You know that feeling that tells you are close to the end? Don't you feel it?" He paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Now that you mentioned it, it _does_ feel like we're at the end. I mean, there isn't anything here that would just tell us otherwise. Just is I guess."

"Just another one of the reasons why they're called mystery dungeons," she said, pulling up to one of the paths. "I think the end of this place lies somewhere around here." Coryn nodded as he came up to join her. "Good enough I suppose." Another nod between the two, then they were off.

The two continued on without comment, passing by various small rooms that held little to nothing of note without any opposition to speak of. Coryn kept a weary eye about him as they proceeded further and further down to their destination. At some point Lisa took the lead, watchful for anything ahead. Without the distractions that usually kept him busy and the mudkip taking up the front, his mind began to wander.

"_Just what **can** I expect from this world? How am I even to survive it if I can only just manage to stomp on the little guys around here? What am I even suppose to do? Go form a team and find out whatever is causing the ruckus here? Assuming there even is one and that this isn't some cruel joke of course."_

_"Perhaps you can keep your eyes on the path and watch out for anything that might want to ambush you. Again you can worry about this later when you are outside this place. There really isn't much you can do right now other than survive. Even assuming you have some sort of 'plot armor' to protect you, who is to say that you are here for any real purpose? In any case, get your head back in the game mate. Otherw-" _The bayleef's gaze turned upward as he saw something yellow streak toward him. Coryn's eyes widened, his branch risen halfway when the weedle impacted. Coryn bit in a scream as his flank began to burn, stumbling back before grasping his vines around the bug.

"Get the hell off me!" he hissed as the stinger pulled right out of his flesh, tossing the bugger into a nearby tree. Stunned, the weedle was unable to react before a branch slammed down on top of it. The bug squelched as Coryn drove his branch into its soft flesh, turning it into mush with a few good strikes. He panted, bug guts pooling down his skin as he got a good look at the entry wound.

"Mister, are you-" She stilled, seeing the small hole embedded in his flesh. A few seconds passed, and his flesh still did not heal.

"Aw crap." He muttered, his breathe quickening as he began to feel dizzy. He clutched his head, feeling the urge to vomit bubble inside his throat.

"Oh. I've been poisoned. Grrrreeeat."he murmured before stumbling against a nearby tree.

"Coryn!" Lisa cried. Her features turned pale as she noticed the weedle and the wound Coryn was nursing. For a moment, Coryn thought she would give him shit for his actions. Instead to his slight surprise she ran past it, looking over the wound he had sustained.

"Oh no, no, no! We gotta get you a pecha berry for that!"

"That'd beeeee niiiiiiice." Huh. He was already slurring. Did that always happen? How quickly did the poison take effect? It was awfully close to his neck. He shook his head, forcing himself to stand.

"Know where we can find one?" He forced out, taking a deep breath. For whatever reason, Coryn did not find himself panicking despite his predicament. It might have been the poison talking, but he figured that there was nothing to gain by such an action. He chuckled.

"You know, this reminds me of the time I got lost in the forest with a bleeding wound. Managed to find someone to help me out after a few hours walking." On the bright side, he'd probably hold up for a little while if Pokemon physiology was anything to go by. He had a couple oran berries he could fall back on, and he still had his strength, even if it was being sapped bit by bit.

"How can you find this the least bit funny? You could die from this!" Lisa all but yelled. He shrugged, giving her a morbid smile.

"Don't know honestly. Just do. If I am gonna die, might as well take some humor from it. Helps that I don't think this has completely hit me ye-" It was then his gut decided it was the right time to void itself. Lisa step back with a cry as the contents of what the bayleef had eaten so far fell from his maw, splattering the ground with odorous discharge that turned the ground puke green. Lisa wrinkled in disgust, pulling her head away as she puckered up her nose.

"Oh Arceus, that smells awful."

"Sorry." He mumbled, clutching his gut as he felt his stomach churn.

"_Ah. Hello nausea my old friend. I missed you too." _He turned back to the mudkip, who had taken to getting a fair distance away from his ejected gut flora and bits of food.

"I-I think I can still fight. Not well, but good enough." Somewhat true. His body was doing its all to fight back against the chemical intrusion. Given enough time and effort, maybe even purge it. But in the middle of the dungeon? Lisa at this point had recovered from her initial reaction, shaking her head.

"You might. But we still need to get you a pecha berry before this gets any worse. There should always be a few around these dungeons." She said, looking around. Her eyes widened, lips pulling in a smile. Without preamble, she began running to what Coryn noticed was a distinctly different looking berry.

"Oh thank Arceus. There's one right here. Come on mister, let's get-" Whatever she was about to say was silenced as she came to a screeching halt. He blinked, wondering what had caused her to scream until he looked up.

His gut fell as he saw a familiar raticate stomp out of the bushes close to it. A feral grin took hold of his features as the rodent swiped it, holding it up for them to see.

"Well whaddya know, I think I hear someone in need of a pecha berry. Would be an awful shame if something were to happen to it." He said. His maw opened, and the berry disappeared. Lisa could only gawk, stunned as the bayleef's salvation was literally chewed right before her eyes. Coryn for his credit didn't feel the strong reaction he suspected he would. He chalked it up as a side effect of the poison. He chuckled. Probably would make for a good recreational drug all things considered. Raticate sighed, patting his belly before turning back to the two of them.

"Whoops. Looks like you just ran out of options there missy." Lisa bared her teeth.

"Oh for the love of Arceus, just piss off already!" In response, the raticate wagged a claw at her.

"Nah, uh, uh. Language missy. I figured I pay you back a bit after what your green friend did to my boy. Gonna be messed up for a long while yet. Least we can do is return the favor, right boys?" Coryn raised an eye as rattata burst out of the bushes all around them. A quick look around them indicated they were boxed in. Surrounded.

"Huh. Brought out the whole gang just for us? That's very kind of you Raticate." The rodent glared.

"Shut it. You really did a number on my boys lizard tail. After what you've done, I am gonna take my time with **you** personally." Coryn could not help but roll his eyes.

"So what, disembowel and feed me my own entrails? Cook me over a fire? Rip my throat out and bleed out? Force me to partake in something horrid?" Lisa gave a quick glance, her features anything but amused.

"Are you _trying_ to make things worse for us?" Coryn shrugged.

"Eh. Not sure. Mind's a little addled from the poison. But I figured I'd just roll with it. I mean, there's a possibility he could want me to do something involving his groin. I mean, I don't think I roll that way, but I am open minded. I don't judge." A silence fell for a few seconds before he heard one of the rattata lose his lunch.

"D-does he actually roll that way? Oh Arceus that would be disgusting!"

"Don't knock it till you try it!" Coryn said in a sing song voice. Lisa's mind finally caught up to her, shooting him a look that communicated… Something, while Raticate narrowed his eyes.

"Is all of this a sick joke to you? The fact you almost killed one of my pack, just to turn about and offer to… Do _that!?_" A sly grin was returned.

"I don't know if it's the poison that is talking, but right now I can't be arsed to give a shit. We're probably gonna die here, so I might as well get what little fun out of it I can. Unless of course you need a fuck buddy. I mean I wouldn't want it up the shitter or yours, but if you want-"

"One more word. One more word and I will make sure that kid suffers something far worse than death."

Silence. Just like that, any jovial mood Coryn had evaporated. Lisa had taken a few steps back, a deep fear evident in her body language as the threat dawned on her, if not fully in comprehension. Coryn for his part embraced the lucidity the moment had given him, his vines tightening around his branch. Such a casual throw away. The way he just said it so matter of fact. An emotion, something strange and unfamiliar. It boiled up inside him. Festering. A hot burn that he had thought long forgotten.

"Run that by me again. Please. I want to hear it in full." Raticate grinned.

"Ah good, so I got your attention now. Was wondering if you were gonna keep that shit attitude of yours. I can smell it all the way from here." His eyes narrowed.

"How about you elaborate on what you had in mind? Maybe I can one up it when I am done with your corpse." At that the raticate let out a bellow.

"Aww, look at the little bayleef. Thinking he's so tough just because he can spout a threat or two." The rattata snickered in unison, joining their leader as Coryn's urge to eviscerate the rodent climbed twofold. As his laughter died down he gave him a firm look, fixing him with his eyes.

"Listen kid, here's the difference between you and I. You make threats. I _act_ on them. And right now, I think I me and the boys are a little hungry after the little runner round you've put us through." He said, flashing a fang for good measure. A chill ran down Coryn's spine, a shiver passing through his neck as his stick rose on instinct in front of it.

"You're bluffing. You can't actually be serious about that."

"Am I? You did lead us on a merry chase through these woods. Round these parts, we only chase if we got something to gain from it. And after all that running and running, I think me and my boys deserve a little something for our efforts."

Coryn felt the blood drain from his face. The way the raticate stated it so plainly as if it was just another routine thing to do in his day. The way the rattata were hissing in excitement further served to solidify their intentions. Up until this point, Coryn had forgotten what fear of death felt like. Oh he had internalized it enough. Dissected it so much that he considered it so in his thoughts to the point where he had become numb to the concept. But in a life of luxury and care, he never had any true worries that he would perish. That he would always be safe from the maladies of such a fate.

Until now.

"_He's actually serious about this." _He thought, his grip tightening on his branch._ "Jesus Christ, __they're__ actually going to eat us!" _

Lisa did no better, stepping back several paces as her jaw fell open in shock.

"Y-you wouldn't. You wouldn't dare! T-the guilds will hunt you down if you-"

"And what makes you think they will ever find the bodies?" She stopped. The raticate began to pace around them.

"Like I said, I have no problem in dealing with the guilds. Worse comes to worst, me and my pack can make scarce and lay low for a while. Your guild can look all it wants, but they'll tire of lookin eventually. By then it'll be the same old same old, save for one less mudkip and bayleef in the world. And that's assuming they even figure out what happened to you."

Coryn tensed, the situation they were in dawning all too well in his mind's eye. He glanced at Lisa, then to the surroundings. Poisoned as he was, it was unlikely he would be able to make it far without a pecha berry anyway. Even if he wasn't poisoned, they'd still had to deal with the fact that they were surrounded. Alone, he and Lisa might have been able to take out the raticate. But with overwhelming numbers on their side? It might have been possible were he a competent fighter. As the situation stood however, he figured he might nab a few of them before one got lucky and tore his neck open. To say nothing about what they would do to Lisa if they took her alive.

"_Well… Shit."_

_"Shit indeed. But Lisa is still well and able. You less so. So the answer in this case is obvious. Fling Lisa as far as you can over their heads, then take as many of the bastards with you to the grave. Not exactly what we had in mind, but at least she'll live."_

"_That's assuming my plan was dying here in the first place."_

_"You don't have a choice in the matter." _He shook his head, drawing out branch and thorn before shooting a look to Lisa. There were worse ways to go. He didn't plan on dying today. But if he was going to, it would be in glory.

"Can you still run?" She gave him a questioning look.

"I can. But I don't see how that would help us-"

"Good enough." Lisa yelped as Coryn scooped her up with a vine.

As he was about to fling the mudkip overhead however, a brown blur slammed into him. Coryn and Lisa tumbled to the ground with a cry as he lost his grip on the her and his weapons, the former tumbling to the away from him while the rest scattered across the grass floor. Before Coryn could recover, he felt a pair of fangs sink into his leg. He screamed, feeling bones crumple and muscles tear as the raticate ripped open the wound. Coryn's vines struck out on instinct, intent on breaking the rat's neck. Yet this too fell through as Raticate stomped on his trachea, causing him to wheeze. Left crippled by this strike, Coryn could only watch as Raticate dipped his head to eye level.

"Not so smug now that you are at my mercy eh?"

"G-go fuck yourself you piece of shit. Your beef is-" Coryn was unable to finish as the raticate scooped up one of the thorns and rammed it into his flank. His scream was cut short as he felt it puncture into one of his lungs. He wheezed, struggling to hold it together even as he felt his leg bleed into a pool of red. Raticate patted him on the neck, making sure the bayleef had a good look of his teeth as he did so. He recoiled, seeing bits and pieces of his own flesh dangling from his maw.

"Shhh. It'll all be over soon. Just need to give my boys a bite of your meat first before that happens." Coryn groaned, trying to move away from the rat. He was rewarded with a cut to his cheek, stopping whatever efforts he was going to make to leave.

"See, it's always like this with you civils. Always making yourself up to be the better mon, when in reality you are anything but that. At the end of the day, your just the same like any other wildander. We live. We die. But at least we're stronger for our efforts living in this untamed wilderness, just like Arceus intended. Not whatever mad foolishness you think living in them remains from those weak humans." He hissed, dragging his claws down until they just about reached his neck. Coryn whimpered, feeling helpless at what should have been a weak opponent. The raticate followed his gaze, chuckling as Lisa pushed herself up. The water type's head darted around, desperate for an escape that did not exist as the rattata closed in around her.

"Now see, there's gonna be a delicious treat. I don't know about you, but I hear mudkip make for great eating, especially in the marrow. Taste real good when you make em scream." Coryn cough, a spattering of blood coating the ground below as he forced his head up to look at the raticate at eye level.

"L-leave her out of this." He winced, spewing more blood with another cough as his head fell back against the hard ground. The raticate shook his head, giving Coryn a shrug.

"No can do. That little shit decided to end up ruining my day, so it stands I gotta ruin hers. Don't worry though, I'll only make her watch as I take you apart piece by piece." His eyes flashed with malice, drawing his paw across the rest of his hide as if he was appraising the quality of a tender meat. Coryn would have laughed if it were not for the situation he was in. Instead it reminded him just how long it was going to take for him to die before they moved to doing the same to Lisa.

"If it's any comfort, I'll make the little one's death quick. She won't feel a thing. You on the other hand, I am going to take my time with. Now just stay still a little while I take your leg off." It was all Coryn could do to suppress his tears. Both at being humiliated so utterly, and the fact he was not able to keep Lisa out of their clutches. He was going to die, all without not even taking a single one of them to the grave. He sucked in a muffled scream as the raticate sank his teeth into his leg, taking a fair chunk of flesh off him. Out of sight, he heard Lisa let out an almost ear piecing scream of her own, sending another shiver down his spine. The raticate dipped down, making sure he saw him chewing on his flesh before he ripped off a piece of it, gulping down the rest in one bite.

"Ahhh. You got good meat on them bones of yours, Bayleef. At least you civils are good for something after all. Must be because you've been getting fat living in them cities of yours. Why don't you have a bite?" Before he could react, the raticate forced open his maw and shoved it into his muzzle. He gagged, trying to spit out his flesh. His efforts were in vain as the raticate forced his muzzle down.

"Chew. Or I will gut the little girl and do the same to her." Whimpering through the pain, Coryn began to chew. He tried not to think on the taste of his own flesh in his mouth, about how it confirmed one of his suspicions about the diet of Pokemon in this world. About what else laid in wait of him even as he swallowed. If nothing else, he could take comfort in bleeding to death relatively quick. He just had to endure several minutes of what he knew to be horrendous agony before that occurred. Coryn was so distracted by both the pain and thoughts that he didn't notice one of the rattata bring something up to the raticate. The raticate nodded, plucking whatever it was they carried and forced his jaw open. His lips bled as the raticate's claws dug into them, a second later Coryn gagged as an oran and pecha berry was rammed through his maw before it was forced closed. His teeth sank into the berries, filling his mouth with the revitalizing juices.

"Swallow. Do it now." He complied, chewing the berries before swallowing them. A small amount of relief flooded his body as the effects from both took hold almost instantly. The effects from the poison dissipated as the berry quelled the nausea in his stomach, neutralizing the toxins while the rest of his body did what it could to mend the damages sustained. He choked, feeling his body healing around the thorn still stuck in his flank, while his leg began to heal, albeit at an excruciatingly glacier pace. He looked up, seeing more oran berries in brought up by the rattata. It took him all of a few seconds to wonder why before a chilling realization hit him. Seeing the look on the bayleef's face, the raticate chuckled.

"Ahh, thought you could get away from this by bleeding out on me eh? I'm afraid it isn't that simple friend. Like I said, gonna take my time with ya. Slow and pretty like you know?" Though weakened, Coryn could not help but feel a growing anger boiling inside him. It was an unfamiliar emotion, having made efforts to avoid such encounters where possible, and to dull his emotions in his attempts at stoicism. Yet the gall of this _bastard_ lit a fire he had thought long forgotten. Even through the excruciating agony, Coryn still felt strength in his vines. Whether out of carelessness or arrogance, the raticate turned around, leaning on him as he continued to ramble on and on about what else he would do. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the thorns just a few inches from his body. It took all of a few seconds for him to make up his mind.

As the raticate continued to prattle about how he was going to use his leaves as a spice for future prey, the bayleef forced himself up with a scream born of rage and pain. His leg burned in absolute agony as he slung his vines around the neck of the wretched piece of shit. It all happened so fast that the raticate did not even have the time to turn around as he found himself choking with the vines tightening around his neck. A split second after, Coryn's vines fell upon of the thorns close by. Without hesitation, he buried deep into the rat's neck. He felt a spasm as the raticate squirmed in his grasp, clutching his throat as he struggled to breathe. The thorn was pulled before it descended again, this time sinking into the raticate's stomach. The process continued, Coryn unrelenting in his assault despite the pain as he struck at the rodent again, _again_, and **again**. With each strike the raticate grew weaker and weaker in his struggles, the bayleef being splattered in thick viscera as blood spurted from his would be killer.

Then with one final strike, Coryn drove his thorn into the skull the raticate's skull. The raticate gave a brief gasp, going rigid for a few solid seconds. Then the raticate slackened in his grasp. The bayleef held the body for a few seconds before letting the body crumple to the ground.

He panted, feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Yet even still, he felt no satisfaction from this. Just a dull numbness as his glare drew across the rattata that surrounded them, who recoiled at his blood filled glare. Looking back down, he began to laugh.

He did it. He killed him. Murdered the raticate that would have delivered him untold cruelty.

At that he could not suppress the moment of satisfaction. He knew he should have been horrified by this, but with his blood pounding at his ears and that of the raticate's dripping down his leg, he could not help but envision what he would do to the rest of these useless pests.

That was when his gaze fell on to Lisa. She pulled back with a whimper as his eyes fell upon her. Blinking, he looked down. He stood in a puddle of both his own and the raticate's blood, while he himself was coated in a liberal amounts of red. He blinked once again, realization dawning on him. Yet despite all that, he did not feel the thrill of horror he would have expected like one would read in some fiction book. Rather he felt… Empty. The thrill from before had dissipated as quickly as it came, replaced by a void of nothing. His wounded leg, though not numb, felt less pained than before despite still being opened to the elements.

The broken thorn and body fell from his grasp as he returned his gaze to the rest of the rattata, who recoiled in clear fear and horror at the fate of their pack leader.

"Get going. Leave us." He said, a ragged breath following each word as he fixed every single rodent with the most menacing glare he could muster. The rattata remain bolted to ground, paralyzed into submission. 

"We- we ca-" He glared, causing them to whimper. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the branch a few feet away. Hissing with every step, he move over and hoisted it up. He returned his stare, fighting for every moment to stand as he struggled not to tremble.

"Unless you want to end up like this piece of shit, I would highly advise you to leave." He spat, brandishing his weapon.

"Bu-" It was then a scream erupted. All presented jerked their heads up as they saw a rattata sprinting through. He gasped, panting as one of them walked up to him. The rattata look up with wild eyes, uncaring of the corpse and bloodied bayleef in the room

"They're coming… They're coming!" As one, the rattata present froze, their eyes widening in rapt attention.

"Who's coming? What happened to the others with you?" One asked, his voice almost a whisper as dread bled from his body. The rattata gave him a manic look, panic clear in his eyes.

"They happened! They got them!"

"What are you..." The rattata trailed off as the faint sound of buzzing came into their ears. Then it became louder. And louder. And louder still. Coryn's stomach fell as ancient flight or fight instincts took hold. Judging by the looks horror of everyone else present, the same realization hit them as well.

The lone rattata broke into a sprint.

"Flee! Save yourselves!" At that the rest of the rattata bolted, running in all directions. Soon Coryn and Lisa stood alone in the room. It was right at that moment Coryn crumpled to the ground with a groan, his second wind having passed. Lisa let out a shout, scampering up to him as Coryn laid unmoving.

"C-Coryn! Get up. We have to go _now_!" Coryn attempted to lift his head, only lifting it a few inches off the ground before he gave up and slumped.

"Hehe. I don't think I'll be moving any time soon Lisa. They got me pretty badly." Lisa shook her head, pushing against him with all her might.

"I can't just leave you here!" She stopped as a vine pulled up her cheek. The bayleef gave her a small smile even as he winced from the pain.

"C-can't move Lisa. My leg is still shot to hell. It'll probably take more than a few oran berries to heal the damages done. It will eventually, but…" He bit down a scream as he bumped his leg, causing a fresh stream of pain to pulse up it. And there was still that damned thorn embedded in him to worry about. All the while the buzzing from before grew ever louder.

"Lisa, you need to run and get out of here. You can still make it out on your own. Find some place to bunker down and wait for the rescue teams if you need to. Don't worry about me."

"But… But that will-" He nodded.

"Yeah. Sucks doesn't it? But that's the way life is sometimes. Just gotta hope life rolls you a good hand, which sometimes it doesn't. This is one of those times. I've had a good life all things considered. But you still have yours to live. Got me?" She shook her head, tears rolling down and washing the blood she had smeared in her attempt to push him up.

"I just-"

"Shh. It'll be alright. Just run. Run and don't look back." After a moment, she nodded.

"What about you?" He chuckled, coughing blood even as morbid humor took him.

"I'll take what I can before I pass. Now go Lisa. Remember me and what happened. Live on in my memory." He shook his head, rolling his eyes at his choice of words. Leave it to him to botch up such a thing.

_"Better than nothing I guess." _He signed, giving a measured nod at Lisa. "Go now. Get out of here while you still can."

After a moment, Lisa nodded. She took a few steps away from him. Then she hesitated, looking up back to the path as the buzzing grew louder. Coryn felt equal parts horror and aggravation as the mudkip just _stood_ there and stared. He was about to shout when her eyes widened. The bayleef's blood froze as his head turned, his own mimicking Lisa's as he saw *_them_*, time slowing as they came into sharp focus.

The first thing he saw were the blades. Glinting in the sunlight were sickle like swords tucked into their arms like that of a praying mantis. Far from the drills from what he would expected them to be, the blades themselves extended from their thorax and almost the length of their abdomen, their length drawn further still as they raised their sword arms into an open position, their forms rising into the air around them. The next thing after that were the cruel, bald heads. Red eyes with mandibles wide open, the depths of which unveiled their intentions as they zeroed in on them. Below their blades jutted stingers that seemed to whir in anticipation as they got closer and closer to them. Then just as the first two rose into the air of either side of him, two more came around the bend. He blinked, seeing these beedrill wield long lances to their front, their needlepoints oozing some clear liquid from their tips.

As a matter of principle, Coryn did note *hate* wasps or hornets. He was in fact perfectly fine with them, provided they were off away from him at a safe distance. The issue for him was when they decided to go and bug him. Of the few things in life he *did* fear, these stinging insects ranked at the top for the sole fact that they were the only insect that could inflict meaningful harm on his person. Which would not be so bad if it weren't for the fact they could *fly*. Worse still was the fact they had no shits to give in regards to who they targeted. Be it a brown bear, a lowly honey bee, or some very unfortunate human, such bugs would sting you either way. Provided that he kept a safe distance from them and made no efforts to antagonize them, Coryn was at least able to keep himself stung from either the solitary or social forms among their number. At the very least, he need not fear death from them, save for maybe a few welts for his troubles.

But the nightmare incarnate of spheksophobes coming toward him were of a far different matter. These bugs, these _feral_ beasts had no inclination to any higher thoughts, save for those reserved for fueling their number with the flesh of their once living prey.

Prey that just so happened to be him and Lisa. What happened next was on instinct as Coryn forced himself to his feet, his weapon raised even as his body screamed at him to sit down and resy. The buzzing in his ears was near overwhelming, one that would have sent any sane person running into a locked closet. Oddly enough however, he did not feel the fear he expected he would. It was still there, the cold sensation running down his body as he drew his head back and furled his leaf. At any other time, Coryn would have marveled at this discovery of his leaf's flexibility. Instead, he flung his leaf forward, loosing a barrage of sharpened leaves. A cold chill run up his spine as some of the leaves _hit_ their target even as the beedrill managed to evade most of them by the very fact most went wide of their mark, embedding deep into their carapace and shredding their wings. One of them went down clutching its neck with its extra limbs as a lucky shot cut through the arteries there, causing red blood to seep out from the wound in excess as it slammed into the dirt. Coryn did not take the moment to savor the small victory as he immediately followed up with a few scattered thorns. His elation however was short lived however as the the other beedrill close by _batted_ them away with its lances. Coryn drew back a step as he heard a _growl_ ripple from its maws, raising his club in a defensive posture as the other beedrill landed and began to charge him, using what was left of its wings to accelerate it into a run.

He heard a cry from Lisa as he saw the other beedrill in his peripheral vision go for her. He did not look, his focus drowning out her scream as he heard a water gun ripple from behind him. So focused on the lances, Coryn did not see the beedrill open its maw until he saw something fling towards him. The bayleef did not so much angle his club before a hoarse scream left his lips as a barbed spike slammed into his bleeding leg. By some miracle and sheer force of will, Coryn forced himself to remain standing as the beedrill laid upon him. Another bitten scream rippled from him as he somehow managed to parry the lances in the nick of time, giving Coryn a good look at the face staring down at him. He stumbled back in recoil, flailing his vines and club in a desperate attempt to drive the beedrill off. For all the surprises the beedrill had before, it seemed to lack finesse as he began to club at it with wild abandon. A sense of shock rippled through him as he felt how light the beedrill was despite its appearance, at least light enough that he was able to press his body weight forward to batter down the beedrill. For but a brief moment, Coryn felt he had the upper hand.

At least until he saw the beedrill lunge at him with its abdomen. He pulled a slight second too late as he felt the tip rip into his barrel. Coryn staggered back, fighting against the pain and numbness in his body as he let out a war cry, his leg screaming in utter agony despite the adrenaline coursing through him as he made to stampede it into the ground. Whatever the beedrill was expecting, it seemed it did not foresee its prey retaliating in such a manner as it seemed to rear back in _shock_ before Coryn's vines shot forward and grabbed at its neck. Before the beedrill could react, he pulled it forward while using his other spare vines to trip its legs. The beedrill stumbled forward for a moment before it was slammed into the ground by Coryn's sheer body mass. Then rearing up as high as he could go, Coryn brought his feet down with the most force he could on its thorax. A satisfying squelched was heard in his ears even as Coryn's leg buckled, causing him to collapse on the beedrill as he continued to hammer at it with his club. He bit in a scream as he felt the tip of the stinger rip into his flesh, whirring as it took chunks of him with it. His vision swam, darkening at the side as his blood began to slow as his blows began to grow weaker and weaker with every strike before he collapsed on an unmoving beedrill, the pain too much for him as his strength faded. His shredded leg slumped against the ground, while Coryn forced himself up on his remaining three good legs, shaking as blood poured from his wounds. He heaved, nausea assaulting his body as he glanced down to see the stinger in his leg still pumping into his wound. Taking a moment to think on it as the blood pounded at his ears, Coryn placed several shaky vines around the stinger before he _pulled_. A silent gasp left him as agony hit him with a renewed assault as the flesh around the stinger ripped open, causing more blood to leak out as he collapsed against the ground. Groaning, Coryn laid there for a few moments as he glanced up and noticed the other beedrill had somehow managed to rip out the leaf from its neck, the wound somehow managing to seal up despite the lucky hit. A hiss left his lips as he felt the body underneath him twitch as the other beedrill rose up and began to maneuver towards him. Dazed to such a degree, Coryn could not even lift his head as it approached him. He felt the abdomen underneath him wiggle, trying to jab him but to no avail.

Not like it mattered. It seemed even this feral knew the prey in front of it was of little threat as it raised its lances, its eyes glinting with a savage intelligence as Coryn felt his thoughts fade. In the course of that very moment, many flickered through his head. Of that of his family who will never see their son again, of the possibility of having no counterpart to continue on as if nothing had happened, of the things he had so much left to do before dying, of what might happen when he died, of how pathetic it was for him to die right here and now so early and easily to this swarm, to have his body fed to what probably would be their grub and other adults. Of what will happened to Lisa. Truly, a disappointing turn of events, but not unexpected.

_"G-God… D-didn't think it would end like this. Just wish… I had more time." _Out of the corner of his ears, he could have sworn he heard another mon yell and yet another buzz fill the air.

"_T-there-… I'll stop the-… Coryn!" _And… Another voice? Did you hear voices when you were dying? Coryn didn't think so, but he thought he heard someone calling out his name. Was that his mind trying to tell him something? Was this its last gasp before the end? He didn't know, and in a very short while it would not matter. At the very least he hoped he managed to buy at least a little time for Lisa to escape, assuming those other beedrill did not get her.

The buzz was getting closer. One of the bladed ones coming to help carve him up into meaty chunks to be carried back to the nest? He hoped they would kill him first at least. The poison was sure taking its sweet time with him. The blood pouring from his chest seemed to have stopped. Even poisoned, it seemed that he was still being kept alive by the unique quirks of Pokemon biology. Just unfortunate that he probably would remain alive long enough to see himself devoured. Maybe the shock will cause him to lose consciousness.

The beedrill was in front of him, prodding at him with its antenna. Lances poised, but moving. Coryn stared as it looked at his face, unable to move even his limbs much as he saw the rear stinger glint in the sunlight.

"J-just kill me already you fucking thing. Just get it over with." He groaned, feeling the body underneath him twitch all the more. He blinked, eyes watering as he dwelled on his fate. If they were not going to kill him now, then it could only mean one thing. Coryn hissed as he felt the standing beedrill's mandibles sink into his flesh, the rest of its free standing articulated limbs pulling on his form as he felt the other began to push him off.

_"This is it. I am going to be eaten alive by these adults. Going to feed me to their larva alive. Christ, what a way to go."_ He struggled, trying to will his limbs to move for a moment before stopping. Even his vines felt weak right now. If only he could snag one of the thorns around him, maybe he could use it to either try and go for the one above him, or failing that maybe end it early. Assuming he had any strength to do even-

Another buzz filled the air, causing the beedrill above him to stop as it dropped him to the ground. Its antenna flickered for a few moments before it seemed to rear back in surprise. Out of the corner of his eye, Coryn noticed something falling from the air straight towards them. And it was… Another beedrill? Before he could even think on this further, a barbed stinger slammed into the feral's throat with a thud. The beedrill staggered back, clutching at its neck once again while it raised its lances. Yet such efforts were for not as the new beedrill set upon it. All Coryn heard was a big swoosh before he saw a nimble blade cut through its neck before the form pulled back up into the air by its momentum. For half a second, the beedrill's jaws open in some form of surprise before it slammed into the dirt in front of him, the head still twitching as the body hung over his form for a few seconds before slumping into the dirt away from him, though not before splashing him with red blood. The beedrill beside him was just about to get up before another poison bard slammed into its skull, causing it to slump to the ground. He blinked, taking a few moments to process what just happened.

"Huh… They're dead." He whispered, though more of a silent mumble than anything else as he heard a familiar patter of paws scampering up to him.

"Coryn! Are you..." He heard a loud gasp, hearing nothing from Lisa for a couple of seconds before the patter resumed. His eyes lit up as he saw the familiar face of the mudkip standing over him, her face a feature of horror and panic as she looked him over. His own eyes set wide open as he saw the scar on her left dorsal fin, blood having seeped down and covering her body.

"Oh nonononoononon! Oh Arceus, there's so much blood! Is he going to be alright miss beedrill?" She said, reaching a paw out towards the stinger.

"He will be if you leave that stinger alone little mudkip." He blinked, hearing a feminine voice above him with a slight buzzing quality to it as the beedrill from before settled lower to the ground, the buzzing from her wings diminishing in volume as she dropped. Lisa stopped, pulling back with a sheepish look on her face as the beedrill walked forward to him. He blinked, getting a good look at it for the first time.

"_Or she in this case. For an overgrown hornet, she doesn't look half bad." _The first thing that was impressed upon him was the sickle blades jutting from her upper thorax. What looked like hardened steel glinted in the sunlight as the beedrill came out of the shadows from the trees. Unlike the nicked, scratched ones he saw from the ferals, the blades seemed to be well kept and pristine, casting a reflection of light on the ground as she moved. So pristine in fact that he even saw his reflection for a moment when they were just at the right angle. The next thing that became apparent was the addition of two arms that sat below the blades, holding a satchel strapped tight against the carapace of her torso by a threaded strap that went between her wings and around between her abdomen and thorax in as a belt. Large translucent wings fluttered to a stop as the bug type settled down to the ground. Now at a standstill, he was able to make out what looked like to be _fur_ like hair insulating the upper portion of her thorax to the neck, where a small white bandanna was wrapped. Insulation of some kind no doubt. Then his eyes fell on the beedrill's face. He blinked, making sure he was not imagining things.

Like all the sapients he had encountered so far in this world, the beedrill had an almost disturbing human quality to her features. It most certainly leaned towards the insect side of things, but not by much. A blend of the familiar and exotic to such a degree that Coryn would say her features seemed to be somehow anthropomorphized in comparison to the feral stock that attacked them. Mandibles flexed in concern while red eyes widened in shock as they fell over the bloodied mudkip. Her antenna twitched, mandibles flaring in a quiet gasp as her eyes then swayed to the bloodied bayleef and raticate corpse not far behind. To the beedrill's credit, she managed to snap out of her trance, bending down the water type and giving her a quick check.

"Hello there little one. I'm Cera, independent rescuer. You're Lisa correct?" The mudkip nodded.

"Y-yeah. Did my family send you?" She nodded, placing her hands over Lisa's body, checking each area in a methodical manner.

"Are you hurt?" Lisa shook her head.

"I-I'm not. But mister Coryn over there is." The beedrill nodded, crouching down next to him with a grimace as her eyes settled over his wounds for a moment before they flickered back to him.

"G-gods… What happened to…" She shook her head, pulling open the zipper on one of the compartments on her bag, fishing in there for a moment before pulling out a vial and an apple, setting the latter down in front of Lisa..

"Eat this. You must be famished after going through a dungeon like this. I'll go over and tend to the mister Coryn."

"I'm not hungry." Cera sighed. _"Of course you aren't, poor little thing." _He heard her mutter. She straightened back up. "I'm just gonna leave it the apple here. Give me a moment to check on mister Coryn for a bit, alright?" Lisa nodded, if with some consternation at being called little. The beedrill crouched next to Coryn, casting a shadow as she dipped her head to eye level with him.

"You all right sir?" Cera asked. She grimaced yet again as her eyes fell over to the barb and thorn embedded in his leg and flank side before drifting down to his ripped leg and other wounds. Coryn blinked, noticing the thorn still embedded inside him. He really didn't notice it during the battle.

"Huh… I somehow forgot about that thorn. Now it hurts, but..." He let out a hoarse chuckle, amusement trickling down into his mind. Cera shook her head as she rested a hand of sorts against his neck.

"Xerneas above, forget that I asked. Better question is how are you holding up?" Coryn coughed, managing to get a chuckle out as he basked in the moment as it struck him how funny it must have looked to have a _beedrill _of all things caring for him.

"C-could be better. Could be dead. Life sometimes give you lemons. Sometimes those lemons decide to take a bite out of ya. Or stab you a couple times with a stinger I-I guess." Cera offered him a small smile as she pulled out a yellow, plastic container tip with a nozzle and trigger on top.

"So your sense of humor is still intact. That's good to know at least." She pressed a hand to his neck.

"This is gonna sting somewhat, but it'll help hold you over until we get back. Okay?" Coryn suppressed the urge to chuckle, a few laughs mixing among his coughs as he nodded.

"C-can't be any w-worse t-then what your c-cousins did to me. Just get it over with." She stared at him for a moment before returning the nod, fixing her mandibles in a smile.

"I'll be done as fast as possible. Sit tight."

Holding his leg down, she depressed the trigger. Coryn grimaced as she sprayed a liberal amount of liquids on the wound, causing it to bubble up and scab over. She repeated this process for his other minor wounds before depositing it back into her bag, ruffling around and pulling out what looked like silk bandages sealed in airtight bags and laying them out on the ground before turning to the two foreign objects embedded on Coryn's body, her eyes narrowing on the poison barb in particular as she pulled out a small set of what looked to be surgical scissors from her kit.

"Sir, I am going to cut these things down to a more manageable size until we can get you to surgery. Going to need you to hold still so we can do this clean as possible. _Especially_ this one." She said, pointing at the barb. "Arceus, what were you even thinking trying to pull it out?" Coryn shot her a grim smile.

"F-figured that t-the open wound would be t-the lesser of two evils. I-it was either that or let that thing continue to p-pump into me. T-thought my body could s-seal it up in time and work without a-all the other stuff it pumped into me. D-didn't have the st-strength to pull it out anyway. Otherwise I-I would not have even t-tried to pull it out." Cera looked at him for a moment before sighing as she set the purple vial from before next to her.

"Arceus knows there is at least some logic to that, but you're supposed to *push* it through after you snapped off the poison sack." She muttered, Coryn wincing as she snipped off the tall end of the barb. Though thanks to the solution she used, the numbness he felt had for the most part mitigated any pain he would have felt otherwise. "At least that way you would have accrued less damage than you would have otherwise. Though considering it was in the heat of the moment, I suppose I could see what you were thinking. Still, it's going to complicate your healing for a bit, even if you would've healed up fine otherwise. You're just lucky it's still in there in one whole piece." He nodded, closing his eyes as his vines pulled up into his neck.

"Y-yeah..." She stopped for a moment before placing a hand around the barb. With a quick stroke, the shaft was snapped off, leaving just enough of a tip to protrude out from his body. In quick order, the same was done with the thorn in his side.

"Normally we would just push it out and let the body do its work after a few oran berries initial post wound care, but you manged to do enough damage that the healing won't work right the first time around. So we're gonna have to bring you to the local clinic for treatment so it heals up right the first time around. Otherwise you'll be stuck with this for a month at least." He nodded as she deposited the fragments into her bag. "I'll keep these for safe keeping till you get better, if for nothing else than to remind you what happened." He nodded yet again as she pulled out her yellow potion and sprayed it on the wounds, closing them up before replacing it with the purple vial. The lid was popped open before she pulled his head up and placed it at his lips.

"A little sitrus vial plus a few other things in it to help speed your initial recovery. It'll help with the pain if nothing else." He grunted, letting the vial past his lips. Liquid seeped from the vial and down his muzzle, sweet juices causing him to groan as he began to swallow. Almost immediately he felt their effects as the contents hit his stomach, feeling the hard pain from before dull to a manageable ache. Before the bottle was halfway depleted, she pulled it from his lips and capped it, placing it back into her bag before pulling up the plastic bags from before. Without preamble, she ripped them open her mandibles and stretched the bandage out before pulling up his wounded leg and began to wrap it around in several rolls.

"So what brought you out here Coryn? For that matter what in Giratina's name did you run into to cause such damage? I can figure out the wounds on your torso and limbs, but the one on your flank… I don't want to presume but-" He raised a vine, shaking his head what little he could even as she continued to wrap up his leg.

"It's fine. Let's just say it's a long story. One that I am not sure really happened myself. Fuck this hurts." He hissed. He was tempted to ask what it was, but decided against it. He would find out sooner or later. No need to blow his cover. It felt nice at least, even seemed to have some anesthetic properties to it as he felt his leg begin to numb even further. Cera raised an eye at his comment.

"You'll need to elaborate once we get back to Lenonius. But for now just sit tight, we'll get you to the town's clinic soon. They'll have you patched up in no time." She buzzed, giving him a reassuring smile as she finished tying up his bandage before moving on to the wound on his chest and flank. Coryn for his part returned her smile. Behind his facade however, was a different story.

"_Shit. What the hell am I going to do when that happens?"_

"_Take it in stride. Nothing more you can do. Just hope that the rest of this world isn't hostile to humans." _His mind fell back on what the raticate said. What the hell happened to this world that he was unaware about? What was this all about civils and wilders? What happened to the humans for that matter? So many questions swam in his brain that he had lulled off enough to cause Cera to notice.

"Hey, you okay?" He jolted, looking back up at her.

"Yeah. Just a lot on my mind. You know, besides the pain."

"Figured as much." She paused, finishing up her treatment as she returned the strands to the bag and began to shuffle inside it. She looked up, glancing at the raticate not far from them before glancing back at his bandages.

"Would I be correct in assuming that this is the raticate is the one responsible for some of this?" She said, gesturing to his leg and side respectively. Coryn groaned.

"Yeah. I rather not talk about it right now if that's okay with you." She shrugged, giving him another nod.

"Fine by me. We can wait on the questions till you are better anyway. I'll have Lisa fill in what she can before then." Coryn paled as she fiddled around with her bag.

"_Shit. Shit, shit, shit. You fucking moron." _

"_Easy now. They'll have to verify it all once you get back to wherever this Lenonius is suppose to be. Just take it one step at a time." _Coryn sighed as Cera pulled out a white berry. He looked at it for a moment before glancing up to her.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"Sleep berry. We need to knock you out in preparation for surgery. This'll help the docs set you up and give an idea for your tolerance level before you go under the knife." He looked at the berry, his gaze holding for a moment.

"_Fuck it. What else do I have to lose? Like said, I'll take it in stride."_ Giving the berry one more look, he opened his maw and chomped down on it. He winced, feeling a slight amount of disgust as the sheer blandness similar to tofu hit his tongue. Cera did not fail to notice his look as she offered a sympathetic look to him.

"Try to chew it all Coryn. It'll help the berry take effect faster." He grunted, holding his breath as he continued to swallow bits and pieces. He gagged as the last piece traveled down his gullet. He would have wretched, yet nothing remained left in his stomach. Cera patted him on the shoulder before pulling out what looked to be a _large_ sized water bottle.

"Good, the berry's effect should start taking effect any moment now. Here-" She said, popping open the bottle and holding it to his lips. "-try to drink some water. Need you to rehydrate so the healing process will go faster." Coryn hesitated before putting the bottle to his lips. The beedrill tipped it over, letting a steady stream of honest to God H2O pour down his parched throat. He guzzled as much as he could swallow, savoring every drop of water. A moment passed when Coryn noticed the stream had stopped. He looked up to see the beedrill looking at him in astonishment, holding a now empty bottle.

"You drank that entire bottle in one go. I know you bigger Pokemon need more water than some of us, but you drank like a mon in the desert. How long has it been since you had last your last drink?" Coryn paused.

"About yesterday." She shot him a flat stare.

"Yesterday? And you came out here all alone with no supplies? Even this close to town you should have brought something." He winced.

"Like I said, it's a long story." Cera's gaze hovered on him for a moment before shrugging.

"Fair enough. We'll find out soon enough once we get you to town." He nodded.

"Yup. Hopefully I'll recover from this."

"_And hopefully I'll have a decent backstory to explain myself." _He yawned, blinking his eyes as his head lulled back to the ground. _"Huh…__ Actually feeling sleepy. So much for sleep derivation I guess." _He thought, chuckling to himself as his eyelids began to close.

Cera nodded, pulling out something from her bag. His eyes focused, seeing a distinct egg shape piece of metal glinting in the sunlight.

"You'll be fine Coryn. Now sleep tight. The next time you wake up, everything will be okay."

Seconds before his consciousness faded, Coryn saw a bright flash from the badge as he felt some strange aura envelop them as a lightness took to his body.

Then, all was darkness.


End file.
